4. /ZL 




^yynj^^cAA^nxyUt^ > 



Wreath op... 
Virginia Bay Leaves 



po EA5 



vJA/AES BARRON HOPE. 



Selected ar\<i Edited by r\is Daughter, 
OANEY HOPE AARR. 



RICHMOND, VA.: 

7tffc.iT, Johnston & Co., PuuUGH^r.s. 

18^5. 



GIFT 



r^ 



Copyright, 1895, by 
Janey Hope Marr. 

. change 
Univ, of Virginia. 

SEP 1 9 1938 



!,.* . • . . • ♦,» •• . • •.... . 



, 



To the memory of the gallant little lad who bore his grandfather's 
name and image— to the dear remembrance of 

XSarron. Hope 3'flarr 

His mother dedicates whatsoever there may be of worth in her 
effort to show James Barron Hope, the Poet, as Vir- 
ginia's Laureate, and James Barron Hope, 
the Man, as he was loved and rev- 
erenced by his house- 
hold and his 
friends. 







Monument to James Barron Hope, 
in Eluiwood Cemetery, Norfolk, Virginia. 



INTRODUCTION. 

It has been claimed for James Barron Hope that he was 
" Virginia's Laureate." He did not deal in " abstractions, 
or generalized arguments," or vague mysticisms. He 
fired the imagination purely, he awoke lofty thoughts and 
presented, through his noble odes that which is the soul 
of " every true poem, a living succession of concrete 
images and pictures." 

James Barron, the elder, organized the Virginia Colo- 
nial Navy, of which he was commander-in-chief during 
the Revolution, and his sons, Samuel and James, served 
gallantly in the United States Navy. It was from these 
ancestors that James Barron Hope derived that unswerv- 
ing devotion to his native state for which he was re- 
markable, and it was at the residence of his grandfather, 
Commodore James Barron, the younger, who then com- 
manded the Gosport Navy-yard, that he was born the 
23d of March, 1829. 

His mother, Jane Barron, was the eldest daughter of 
the Commodore and most near to his regard. An attract- 
ive gentlewoman of the old school, generous, of quick 
and lively sympathies, she wielded a clever, ready pen, 

5 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

and the brush and embroiderer's needle in a manner not 
to be scorned in those days, and was a personage in her 
family. 

Her child was the child not only of her material, but 
of her spiritual being, and the two were closely knit as 
the years passed, in mutual affection and confidence, in 
tastes and aspirations. 

His father was Wilton Hope of " Bethel," Elizabeth 
City County, a handsome, talented man, a landed pro- 
prietor, of a family whose acres bordered the picturesque 
waters of Hampton River. 

He gained his early education at Germantown, Penn- 
sylvania, and at the " Academy " in Hampton, Virginia, 
under his venerated master, John B. Cary, Esq., — the 
master who declares himself proud to say, " I taught 
him " — the invaluable friend of all his after years. 

In 1S47 h e graduated from William and Mary College 
with the degree of A. B. 

From the " Pennsylvania," upon which man-of-war he 
was secretary to his uncle, Captain Samuel Barron, he 
was transferred to the " Cyane," and in 1852 made a cruise 
to the West Indies. 

In 1856 he was elected Commonwealth's attorney to 
the " game-cock town of Virginia," historic and pictur- 
esque old Hampton, which was the centre of a charming 



Introduction. 

and cultivated society and which had already claimed 
him as her "bard." For as Henry Ellen he had con- 
tributed to various southern publications, his poems in 
"The Southern Literary Messenger" attracting much 
gratifying attention. 

In 1S57 Lippincott brought out "Leoni di Monota and 
Other Poems." The volume was cordially noticed 
by the southern critics of the time, not only for its central 
poem, but also for several of its minor ones, notably, 
"The Charge at Balaklava," which G. P. R. James-— as 
have others since— declared unsurpassed by Tennyson's 
" Charge of the Light Brigade." 

Upon the 13th of May, 1857, he sto °d poet at the 250th 
anniversary of the English settlement at Jamestown. 

As poet, and as the youthful colleague of Henry A. 
Wise and John R. Thompson, he stood at the base of 
Crawford's statue of Washington, in the Capitol Square, 
Richmond, Virginia, the 22d of February, 1858. That 
same year these recited poems, together with some mis- 
cellaneous ones were published. 

Congress chose him as poet for the Yorktown Centen- 
nial, 1881, and his "brilliant and masterly poem was a 
fitting companion piece to the splendid oration delivered 
upon that occasion by the renowned orator, Robert C. 
Winthrop." 

7 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

This metrical address " Arms and the Man," with va- 
rious sonnets was published the next year. As the 
flower of his genius, its noble measures only revealed 
their full beauty when they fell from the lips of him who 
framed them, and it was under this spell that one of those 
who had thronged about him that 19th of October cried 
out : " Now I understand the power by which the old 
Greek poets swayed the men of their generation." 

Again his State called upon him to weave among her 
annals the laurels of his verse at the laying of the corner- 
stone of the monument erected in Richmond to Robert 
E. Lee. The corner-stone was laid October, 1887, but the 
poet's voice had been stilled forever. He died Septem- 
ber the i^th, as he had often wished to die, "in harness," 
and at home, and Death came swift and painless. 

His poem, save for the after softening touches, had been 
finished the previous day, and was recited at the appointed 
time and place by Captain William Gordon McCabe. 

" Memoriae Sacrum," the Lee Memorial Ode, has been 
pronounced by many his masterpiece, and waked this 
noble echo in a brother poet's soul : 

" Like those of whom the olden scriptures tell, 
Who faltered not, but went on dangerous quest, 

For one cool draught of water from the well 

With which to cheer their exiled monarch's breast; 
8 



Introduction. 

So thou to add one single laurel more 
To our great chieftain's fame — heedless of pain 

Didst gather up thy failing strength and pour 
Out all thy soul in one last glorious strain. 



And when the many pilgrims come to gaze 

Upon the sculptured form of mighty Lee, 
They'll not forget the bard who sang his praise 

With dying breath, but deathless melody. 
For on the statue which a country rears, 

Tho' graven by no hand, we'll surely see, 
E'en tho' it be thro' blinding mists of tears, 

Thy name forever linked with that of Lee." 

— Rev. Beverly D. Tucker. 

His genius had flowered not out of opulence, or con- 
genial occupation, but out of the tread-mill of newspaper 
life, and under such conditions from 1870-1887 he de- 
livered the poem at Lynchburg's celebration of its found- 
ing; at the unveiling of the monument raised to Annie 
Lee by the ladies of Warren County, North Carolina ; 
memorial odes in Warrenton, Virginia, in Portsmouth, 
and Norfolk, and at the Virginia Military Institute. 
He was the first commander of Norfolk's Camp of Con- 
federate Veterans, the Pickett-Buchanan, but through all 
his stirring lines there breaks no discordant note of hate 

9 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

or rancor. He also sent into print, " Little Stories for 
Little People," and his novel "Madelon," and delivered 
among various masterly addresses, " Virginia — Her Past, 
Present and Future," and "The Press and the Printer's 
Devil." 

During these years he had suffered a physical agony 
well-nigh past the bearing, but which he bore with a 
wonderful patience and fortitude, and not only bore, but 
hid away from those nearest to him. He had brought 
both broken health and fortunes out of the war ; for 
when in 1861 the people of Hampton left the town,* "Its 
men to join the Southern army, and its women to go in 
exile for four long weary years, returning thence to find 
their homes in ashes, * * James Barron Hope was among 
the first who left their household gods behind to take up 
arms for their native State, and he bore his part nobly in 
the great conflict." 

When it ended he did not return to Hampton, or to the 
practice of his profession. Instead of the law he em- 
barked in journalism in Norfolk, Virginia, and, despite 
its lack of entire congeniality, made therefrom a career 
as brilliant as it was fearless and unsullied. 

*"They themselves applying the torch to their own homes under the 
patriotic, but mistaken idea that they would thus arrest the march of the 
Invaders." (« Col. Cary's address at unveiling of monument to Captain 
Hope.") r 

10 



Introduction. 

He was a little under six feet in height, slender, grace- 
ful, and finely proportioned, with hands and feet of dis- 
tinctive beauty. And his fingers were gifted with a 
woman's touch in the sick-room, and an artist's grasp 
upon the pencil and the brush of the water-colorist. 

It was said of him that his manner was as courtly as 
that of " Sir Roger de Coverly." Words which though 
fitly applied are but as the bare outlines of a picture, for he 
was the embodiment of what was best in the Old South. 
He was gifted with a rare charm. There was charm in 
his pale face, which in conversation flashed out of its 
deep thoughtfulness into vivid animation. His fine head 
was crowned with soft hair fast whitening before its time. 
His eyes shone under his broad white forehead, wise and 
serene, until his dauntless spirit, or his lofty enthusiasm 
awoke to fire their gray depths. His was a face that 
women trusted and that little children looked up into with 
smiles. Those whom he called friend learned the mean- 
ing of that name, and he drew and linked men to him 
from all ranks and conditions of life. 

Beloved by many, those who guard his memory coin the 
very fervor of their hearts into the speech with which they 
link his name. "A very Chevalier Bayard " he was called. 

Of him was quoted that noble epitaph on the great 
Lord Fairfax : 

ii 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

" ' Both sexes' virtues in him combined, 
He had the fierceness of the manliest mind, 
And all the meekness too of woman kind. 

" He never knew what envy was, nor hate, 
His soul was filled with worth and honesty, 
And with another thing quite out of date, called modesty.' " 

No sketch could approach justice toward Captain 
Hope without at least a brief review of his domestic life. 

In 1857 he had married Miss Annie Beverly Whiting 
of Hampton. Hers were the face and form to take cap- 
tive his poet's fancy, and she possessed a character as 
lovely as her person ; a courage and strength of will far 
out of proportion to her dainty shape, and an intellect of 
masculine robustness. Often the editor brought his work 
to the table of his library that he might avail himself of 
his wife's judgment, and labor with the faces around him 
that he loved, for their union was a very congenial one, 
and when two daughters came to bless it, as husband and 
father, he poured out the treasures of his heart, his 
mind and soul. To his children he was a wise teacher, 
a tender guide, an unfailing friend, the most delightful 
of companions. His sympathy for and his understanding 
of young people never aged, and he had a circle of dear 
and familiar friends of varying ages that gathered about 
him once a week. There, beside his own hearth, his 

12 



Introduction. 

ready wit, his kindly humor sparkled most brightly, and 
there flowed forth most evenly that speech accounted by 
man}' well worth the hearing. P"or his was also the art 
of listening ; he not only led the expression of thought, 
but inspired it in others. His own roof-tree looked down 
upon James Barron Hope at his best and down upon a 
home in the sacred sense of the word, for he touched 
with poetry the prose of daily living, and left to 
those who loved him the blessed legacy of a memory 
which death cannot take from them. 

I have said that in his early years Old Hampton claim- 
ed him. He became the son of the city of his adoption 
and sleeps among her dead. 

Above his ashes rises a shaft, fashioned from the stones 
of the State he loved so well which proclaims that it is 
" The tribute of his friends offered to the memory of the 
Poet, Patriot, Scholar, and Journalist and the Knightly 
Virginia Gentleman." 

Janey Hope Mark, 

Lexington, Va. 
13 



Index. 



Page. 

The Charge at Balaklava 17-21 

A Short Sermon 22-23 

A Little Picture ... 2 4 _2 5 

A Reply to a Young Lady 26 

A Story of the Caracas Valley 2 7~39 

Three Summer Studies 4 0- 44 

The Washington Memorial Ode 45~57 

How it Fell Calm on Summer Night 58 

A Friend of Mine 59-62 

Indolence 63 

The Jamestown Anniversary Ode 64-67 

An Elegiac Ode 68-69 

The Cadets at New Market 70 

Our Heroic Dead 71—73 

Mahone's Brigade . . 74~8 2 

The Portsmouth Memorial Poem— The Future Historian . 83-88 

Arms and The Man 89-131 

Prologue 89 

The Dead Statesman 90 

The Colonies 92 

The New England Group. 93 

The Southern Colonies 95 

The Old Dominion 97 

The Oaks and the Tempest 97 

The Embattled Colonies 99 

Welcome to France 100 

The Allies at Yorktown 103 

The Ravages of War 104 

15 



Index. 

Page. 
Arms and The Man — 

The Lines Around Yorktown 105 

The French in the Trenches 107 

Nelson and the Gunners 108 

The Beleaguered Town 108 

Storming the Redoubts no 

The Two Leaders 113 

The Beginning of the End . . . , 114 

The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis 116 

Our Ancient Allies. . . 117 

The Continentals 118 

The Marquis 119 

The Ancient Enemies 119 

The Splendid Three 120 

The War Horse Draws the Plough 122 

Heroes and Statesmen . .'■ 123 

Pater Patriae 126 

The Flag of the Republic 128 

The South in the Union 129 

To Alexander Gait, the Sculptor 132-136 

To the Poet-Priest Ryan 137-138 

Three Names 139-141 

Sir Walter Raleigh 139 

Captain John Smith 140 

Pocahontas 141 

Sunset on Hampton Roads 142 

A King's Gratitude. 143 

"The Twinses" 144 

Dreamers ...... j 145 

Under One Blanket 146-148 

The Lee Memorial Ode 149-159 

16 



A WREATH OF VIRGINIA BAY LEAVES. 



THE CHARGE AT BALAKLAVA. 

NOLAN halted where the squadrons, 
Stood impatient of delay, 
Out he drew his brief dispatches, 
Which their leader quickly snatches, 
At a glance their meaning catches ; 
They are ordered to the fray ! 

All that morning they had waited — 
As their frowning faces showed, 

Horses stamping, riders fretting, 

And their teeth together setting ; 

Not a single sword-blade wetting 
As the battle ebbed and flowed. 

Now the fevered spell is broken, 
Every man feels twice as large, 

Every heart is fiercely leaping, 

As a lion roused from sleeping, 

For they know they will be sweeping 
In a moment to the charge. 
i7 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Brightly gleam six hundred sabres, 

And the brazen trumpets ring ; 
Steeds are gathered, spurs are driven, 
And the heavens widely riven 
With a mad shout upward given, 
Scaring vultures on the wing. 

Stern its meaning ; was not Gallia 
Looking down on Albion's sons? 
In each mind this thought implanted, 
Undismayed and all undaunted, 
By the battle-fiends enchanted, 
They ride down upon the guns. 

Onward ! On ! the chargers trample ; 

Quicker falls each iron heel ! 
And the headlong pace grows faster ; 
Noble steed and noble master, 
Rushing on to red disaster, 

Where the heavy cannons peal. 

In the van rides Captain Nolan ; 

Soldier stout he was and brave ! 
And his shining sabre flashes, 
As upon the foe he dashes : 
God ! his face turns white as ashes, 

He has ridden to his grave ! 

Down he fell, prone from his saddle, 

Without motion, without breath, 
Never more a trump to waken — 

18 



The Charge at Balaklava. 

He the very first one taken, 
From the bough so sorely shaken, 
In the vintage-time of Death. 

In a moment, in a twinkling, 

He was gathered to his rest ; 
In the time for which he'd waited — 
With his gallant heart elated — 
Down went Nolan, decorated 

With a death wound on his breast. 

Comrades still are onward charging, 

He is lying on the sod : 
Onward still their steeds are rushing 
Where the shot and shell are crushing ; 
From his corpse the blood is gushing, 

And his soul is with his God. 

As they spur on, what strange visions 
Flit across each rider's brain ! 

Thoughts of maidens fair, of mothers, 

Friends and sisters, wives and brothers. 

Blent with images of others, 

Whom they ne'er shall see again. 

Onward still the squadrons thunder — 

Knightly hearts were their's and brave. 
Men and horses without number 
All the furrowed ground encumber — 
Falling fast to their last slumber — 
Bloody slumber ! bloody grave I 
19 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Of that charge at Balaklava — 

In its chivalry sublime — 
Vivid, grand, historic pages 
Shall descend to future ages ; 
Poets, painters, hoary sages 

Shall record it for all time ; 

Telling how those English horsemen 
Rode the Russian gunners down ; 

How with ranks all torn and shattered ; 

How with helmets hacked and battered ; 

How with sword arms blood-bespattered ; 
They won honor and renown. 

'Twas " not war," but it was splendid 

As a dream of old romance ; 
Thinking which their Gallic neighbors 
Thrilled to watch them at their labors, 
Hewing red graves with their sabres 

In that wonderful advance. 

Down went many a gallant soldier ; 

Down went many a stout dragoon ; 
Lying grim, and stark, and gory, 
On the crimson field of glory, 
Leaving us a noble story 

And their white-cliffed home a boon. 

Full of hopes and aspirations 

Were their hearts at dawn of day ; 
Now, with forms all rent and broken, 

20 



The Charge at Balaklava. 



& 



Bearing each some frightful token 
Of a scene ne'er to be spoken, 
In their silent sleep they lay. 

Here a noble charger stiffens, 
There his rider grasps the hilt 

Of his sabre lying bloody 

By his side, upon the muddy, 

Trampled ground, which darkly ruddy 
Shows the blood that he has spilt. 

And to-night the moon shall shudder 
As she looks down on the moor, 

Where the dead of hostile races 

Slumber, slaughtered in their places ; 

All their rigid ghastly faces 

Spattered hideously with gore. 

And the sleepers ! ah, the sleepers 
Make a Westminster that day ; 

'Mid the seething battle's lava ! 

And each man who fell shall have a 

Proud inscription — Balaklava, 
Which shall never fade away. 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

A SHORT SERMON. 
" He that giveth to the poor, lendeth to the Lord." 

THE night-wind comes in sudden squalls 
The ruddy fire-light starts and falls 
Fantastically on the walls. 

The bare trees all their branches wave ; 
The frantic wind doth howl and rave, 
Like prairie-wolf above a grave. 

The moon looks out ; but cold and pale, 
And seeming scar'd at this wild gale 
Draws o'er her pallid face a veil. 

In vain I turn the poet's page — 
In vain consult some ancient sage — 
I hear alone the tempest rage. 

The shutters tug at hinge and bar — 
The windows clash with frosty jar — 
The child creeps closer to " Papa." 

And now, I almost start aghast, 
The clamor rises thick and fast, 
Surely a troop of fiends drove past ! 

That last shock shook the oaken door, 
Sounding like billows on the shore, 
On such a night God shield the poor ! 



A Short Sermon. 

God shield the poor to-night, who stay 
In piteous homes ! who, if they pray, 
Ask thee, oh God ! for bread and day ! 

Think ! think ! ye men who daily wear 
" Purple and linen " — ye whose hair 
Flings perfume on the temper'd air. 

Think ! think ! I say, aye ! start and think 
That many tremble on death's brink — 
Dying for want of meat and drink. 

When tatter'd poor folk meet your eyes, 
Think, friend, like Christian, in this wise, 
Each one is Christ hid in disguise. 

Then when you hear -the tempest's roar 
That thunders at your carved door, 
Know that, it knocketh for the poor. 

23 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 



A LITTLE PICTURE. 

OFT when pacing thro' the long and dim 
Dark gallery of the Past, I pause before 
A picture of which this is a copy — 
Wretched at best. 

How fair she look'd, standing a-tiptoe there, 
Pois'd daintily upon her little feet ! 
The slanting sunset falling thro' the leaves 
In golden glory on her smiling face, 
Upturn'd towards the blushing roses ; while 
The breeze that came up from the river's brink, 
Shook all their clusters over her fair face ; 
And sported with her robe, until methought, 
That she stood there clad wondrously indeed ! 
In perfume and in music : for her dress 
Made a low, rippling sound, like little waves 
That break at midnight on the tawny sands — 
While all the evening air of roses whisper'd. 
Over her face a rich, warm blush spread slowly, 
And she laughed, a low, sweet, mellow laugh 
To see the branches still evade her hands — 
Her small white hands which seem'd indeed as if 
Made only thus to gather roses. 

Then with face 
All flushed and smiling she did nod to me 
Asking my help to gather them for her : 

24 



A Little Picture. 

And so, I bent the heavy clusters down, 
Show'ring the rose-leaves o'er her neck and face; 
Then carefully she plucked the very fairest one, 
And court'seying playfully gave it to me — 
Show'd me her finger-tip, pricked by a thorn, 
And when I would have kiss'd it, shook her head, 
Kiss'd it herself, and mock'd me with a smile ! 

The rose she gave me sleeps between the leaves 
Of an old poet where its sight oft brings 
That summer evening back again to me. 

25 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 



A REPLY TO A YOUNG LADY. 

"I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done 
Than to be one of the twenty to follow my own teaching." 

-—Merchant of Venice. 

"Do as I tell you, and not as I do." 

— Old Saying. 

YOU say, a "moral sign-post" I 
Point out the road towards the sky ; 
And then with glance so very shy 
You archly ask me, lady, why 
I hesitate myself to go 
In the direction which I show? 

To answer is an easy task, 
If you allow me but to ask 
One little question, sweet, of you : — 
'Tis this : should sign-posts travel too 
What would bewildered pilgrims do — 
Celestial pilgrims, such as you? 
26 



t 



A Story of the Caracas Valley. 



A STORY OF THE CARACAS VALLEY 

HIGH-PERCH'D upon the rocky way, 
Stands a Posada stern and grey ; 
Which from the valley, seems as if, 
A condor there had paus'd to 'light 
And rest upon that lonely cliff, 
From some stupendous flight ; 
But when the road you gain at length, 
It seems a ruin'd hold of strength, 
With archway dark, and bridge of stone, 
By waving shrubs all overgrown, 
Which cling around that ruin'd gate, 
Making it look less desolate ; 
For here and there, a wild flower's bloom 
With brilliant hue relieves the gloom, 
Which clings 'round that Posada's wall — 
A sort of misty funeral pall. 

The gulf spann'd by that olden arch 
Might stop an army's onward march, 
For dark and dim — far down below — 
'Tis lost amid a torrent's flow ; 
And blending with the eagle's scream 
Sounds dismally that mountain- stream, 
That rushes foaming down a fall 
Which Chamois hunter might appal, 
27 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Nor shame his manhood, did he shrink 
In treading on its dizzy brink. 

In years long past, ere bridge or wall 
Had spann'd that gulf and water-fall, 
'Tis said — perhaps, an idle tale — 
That on the road above the vale 
Occurr'd as strange and wild a scene, 
As ever ballad told, I ween. — 
Yes, on this road which seems to be 
Suspended o'er eternity ; 
So dim — so shadow-like — the vale 
O'er which it hangs : but to my tale : 
Once, 'tis well-known, this sunny land 
Was ravag'd by full many a band 

Of reckless buccaneers. 
Cities were captur'd* — old men slain ; 
Trampled the fields of waving cane ; 
Or scatter'd wide the garner'd grain ; 

An hour wrought wreck of years ! 

Where'er these stern freebooters trod, 
In hacienda — church of God — 
Or, on the green-enamell'd sod — 

They left foot-prints so deep, 
That but their simple names would start 
The blood back to each Spanish heart, 

And make the children weep. 



* Panama, Carthagena, Maracaibo, and Chagres, were at various times held 
by the buccaneers. 

28 



A Stoi'y of the Caracas Valley. 

E'en to this day, their many crimes 
The peasants sing in drowsy rhymes — 

On mountain, or on plain ; 
And as they sing, the plaintive song 
Tells many a deed of guilt and wrong — 

Each has a doleful strain ! 

****** 

One glorious morn, it so befell, 

I heard the tale which I shall tell, 

At that Posada dark and grey 

Which stands upon the mountain way, 

Between Caracas and the sea ; 

So grim — so dark — it seem'd to me 

Fit place for deed of guilt or sin — 

Tho' peaceful peasants dwelt therein. 

At midnight we, (my friends and I,) 
Beneath a tranquil tropic sky, 
Bestrode our mules and onward rode, 
Behind the guide who swiftly strode 
Up the dark mountain side ; while we 
With many a jest and repartee — 
With jingling swords, and spurs, and bits- 
Made trial of our youthful wits. 
Ah ! we were gay, for we were young 
And care had never on us flung — 
But, to my tale : the purple sky 
Was thick o'erlaid with burning stars, 
And oft the breeze that murmur' d by, 
29 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Brought dreamy tones from soft guitars, 
Until we sank in silence deep. 
It was a night for thought not sleep — 
It was a night for song and love — 
The burning planets shone above — 
The Southern Cross was all ablaze — 
'Tis long since it then met my gaze ! — 
Above us, whisp'ring in the breeze, 
Were many strange, gigantic trees, 
And in their shadow, deep and dark, 
Slept many a pile of mould'ring bones ; 
For tales of murder fell and stark, 
Are told by monumental stones 
Flung by the passer's hand, until 
The place grows to a little hill. 
Up through the shade we rode, nor spoke, 
Till suddenly the morning broke. 
Beneath we saw in purple shade 
The mighty sea ; above display'd, 
A thousand gorgeous hues which met 
In tints that I remember yet ; 
But which I may not paint, my skill, 
Alas ! would but depict it ill — 
E'en Claude has never given hints 
On canvas of such splendid tints ! 
The mountains, which ere dawn of day 
I'd liken'd unto friars grey — 
Gigantic friars clad in grey — 
Stood now like kings, wrapp'd in the fold 
30 



A Story of the Caracas Valley. 

Of gorgeous clouds around them roll'd — 
Their lofty heads all crown'd with gold ; 
And many a painted bird went by 
Strange to my unaccustom'd eye — 
Their plumage mimicking the sky. 
O'er many a league, and many a mile — 
Crag — pinnacle — and lone defile — 
All Nature woke ! — woke with a smile — 
As tho' the morning's golden gleam 
Had broken some enchanting dream, 
But left its soft impression still, 
On lofty peak and dancing rill. 
With many a halt and many a call, 
At last we saw the rugged wall, 
And gaz'd upon the ruin'd gate 
Which even then look'd desolate, 
For that Posada so forlorn 
Seem'd sad e'en on so gay a morn ! 
The heavy gate at length unbarr'd, 
We rode within the busy yard, 
Well scatter'd o'er with many a pack ; 
For on that wild, romantic track, 
The long and heavy-laden trains 
Toil seaward from the valley's plains. 
And often on its silence swells 
The distant tinkle of the bells, 
While muleteers' shrill, angry cries 
From the dim road before you rise ; 
And such were group'd in circles round 

3i 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Playing at monte on the ground ; 

Each swarthy face that met my eye 

To thought of honesty gave lie. 

In each fierce orb there was a spark 

That few would care to see by dark — 

And many a sash I saw gleam thro' 

The keen cuchillo into view. 

Within ; the place was rude enough — 

The walls of clay — in color buff — 

A pictur'd saint — a cross or so — 

A hammock swinging to and fro — 

A gittern by the window laid 

Whereon the morning breezes play'd, 

And its low tones and broken parts 

Seem'd like some thoughtless minstrel's arts- 

A rugged table in the floor — 

Ran thro' this homely coinedor. 

Here, weary as you well may think, 

An hour or so we made abode, 

To give our mules both food and drink, 

Before we took again the road ; 

And honestly, our own repast 

Was that of monks from lenten fast. 

The meal once o'er; our stores replac'd ; 

We gather'd where the window fac'd 

Upon the vale, andgaz'd below 

Where mists from a mad torrent's flow 

Were dimly waving to and fro. 

Meanwhile, the old guitar replied 

3 2 



A Story of the Caracas Valley. 

To the swift fingers of our guide : 

His voice was deep, and rich, and strong, 

And he himself a child of song. 

At first the music's liquid flow 

Was soft and plaintive — rich and low ; 

The murmur of a fountain's stream 

Where sleeping water-lilies dream ; 

Or, like the breathing of love-vows 

Beneath the shade of orange-boughs ; 

And then more stirring grew his song — 

A strain which swept the blood along ! 

And as he sang, his eyes so sad — 

Which lately wore the look of pain, 

Danc'd with a gleam both proud and glad, 

Awaken'd by his fervid strain — 

His face now flush'd and now grew pale — 

The song he sang, was this, my tale. 

A fort above Laguayra stands, 
W T hich all the town below commands. 
The damp moss clings upon its walls — 
The rotting drawbridge slowly falls — 
Its dreary silentness appalls ! 
The iron-bars are thick with rust 
And slowly moulder into dust ; 
The roofless turrets show the sky, 
The moats below are bare and dry — 
No captain issues proud behest — 
The guard-room echoes to no jest ; 
33 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

As I have said, within those walls 
The very silentness appalls ! 
In other days it was not so — 
The Spanish banner, long ago, 
Above the turrets tall did flow. 
And many a gallant soldier there 
With musket or with gleaming spear, 
Pac'd on the battlements that then 
Were throng'd with tall and proper men. 
But this was many a year ago — 
A long shot back for mem'ry's bow ! 
The Governor here made his home 
Beneath the great hall's gilded dome. 
And here his lady-wife he brought 

From Spain, across the sea ; 
And sumptuous festival was made, 
Where now the tangled ivy's shade 

Is hanging drearily. 
The lady was both fair and young — 
Fair as a poet ever sung ; 
And well they lov'd ; so it is told ; — 
Had plighted troth in days gone by, 
Ere he had won his spurs of gold, 

Or, gain'd his station high. 
And often from the martial keep 
They'd sail together on the deep ; 
Or, wander many a weary mile 
In lonely valley, or defile. 



34 



A Story of the Caracas Valley, 

Well; once upon this road, a pair, 
A lady and a cavalier, 

Were riding side by side. 
And she was young and " passing fair," 
With crimson lips and ebon hair— . 

She was the gallant's bride ! 
And he was cast in manly mould, 
His port was high, and free, and bold — 

Fitting a cavalier ! 
But now bent reverently low 
His crest's unsullied plume of snow 

Play'd 'mid the lady's hair. 

This knight with orders on his breast, 
The Governor, as you have guess'd — 
The lady was his wife, and they, 
Alone were on the road that day ; — 
Their horses moving at a walk, 
And they engaged in earnest talk, 

Low words and sweet they spoke; 
The lady smil'd, and blush'd, and then, 
Smiling and blushing, spoke again ; 

When sleeping echo woke — 
Woke with the shouts of a wild band 
Who urg'd with spur and heavy hand 

Their steeds along the way. 

Gave but one look the cavalier — 
Murmur'd a vow the lady fair — 
His right arm is around her thrown 
35 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Her form close-gather'd to his own ; 
While his brave steed, white as the snow, 
Darts like an arrow from the bow ; 
His hoofs fall fast as tempest rain 
Spurning the road that rings again. 
Onward the race ! — now fainter sounds 
The yell and whoop ; but still like hounds 
The pirate-band behind him rush 
Breaking the mountains solemn hush. 
On speeds he now — his steed so white 
Far in advance, proclaims his flight ; 

God speed him and his bride ! 
But ah ! that chasm's fearful gape 
Seems to forbid hope of escape, 

He cannot turn aside. 

He bends his head ; is it in pray'r? 
Is it to shed a bitter tear? 

Or utter craven vow ? 
No ; 'tis to gaze into those eyes 
Which are to him love-litten skies — 

To kiss his lady's brow. 
And must he on? full well he knew 
That none were spar'd by that wild crew- 

Never a lady fair. 
And now a shout, a fierce halloo, 
Told that they were again in view — 
Close to his ear a bullet sings, 
And then the distant carbine rings. 
36 



A Story of the Caracas Valley. 

Why pales the cavalier? 
And why does he now set his teeth 
And draw his dagger from its sheath ? 
He breasts his charger at the leap — 
He pricketh him full sharp and deep : 
He leaps, and then with heaving flank 
Gains footing on the other bank : 
A moment — 'mid the pass's gloom, 
Vanish both veil and dancing plume — 
It seems a dream. No ! there is proof, 
The clatter of a flying hoof, 
And too, the lady's steed remains, 
With empty seat, and flying reins; 
And then is borne to that wild rout, 
A long and proud triumphant shout. 
And he who led the pirate band, 
Urg'd on his horse, with spur and hand ; 
The long locks drifted from his brow, 
Like midnight waves from storm-vexed prow 
And darkly flash'd his eyes of jet 
Beneath the brows which almost met. 
Stern was his face ; but war and crime, 
— For he had sinn'd in many a clime — 
Had plough'd it deeper far than time. 
He was their chief: will he draw rein? 
Will he the yawning rift refrain? 
And with his halting band remain ? 
He rais'd up in his stirrups, high, 
Better the chasm to descry, 

37 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

And measure with his hawk-like eye, 
While his dark steed begrim'd with toil, 
Tried tnadly, vainly, to recoil ! 
A mutter'd curse — a sabre goad — 
Full at the leap the robber rode : 
Great God ! his horse near dead and spent, 
Scarce halfway o'er the chasm went. 
That fearful rush, and daring bound, 
Was follow'd by a crashing sound — 

A sudden, awful knell ! 
For down, more than a thousand feet, 
Where mist and mountain torrent meet, 
That reckless rider fell. 

His band drew up : — they could not speak, 
For long, and loud his charger's shriek 
Was heard in an unearthly scream, 
Above that roaring mountain stream — 
Like fancied sound in fever'd dream, 
When the sick brain with crazy skill 
Weaves fantasies of woe and ill. 
Some said : no steed gave forth that yell, 
And hinted solemnly of — hell ! 
And others said, that from his vest 
A miniature with haughty crest 
And features like the lady's 'pressed, 

Fell on the rugged bank : 
But who he was, none knew or tell ; 



38 



A Story of the Caracas Valley. 

They simply point out where he fell 

When horse and horseman sank. 
Like Ravenswood he left no trace — 
Tradition only points the place. 

Rude is my hand, and rude my lay — 
Rude as the Inn, time-worn and grey, 
Where resting, on the mountain-way, 
I heard the tale which I have tried 
To tell to thee ; and saw the wide 
Deep rift — ten yards from side to side- 
Great God ! it was a fearful ride 
The robber took that day. 

. 39 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 



THREE SUMMER STUDIES. 



I. 

THE cock hath crow'd. I hear the doors unbarr'd ; 
Down to the moss-grown porch my way I take, 
And hear, beside the well within the yard, 

Full many an ancient, quacking, splashing drake, 
And gabbling goose, and noisy brood-hen — all 
Responding to yon strutting gobbler's call. 

The dew is thick upon the velvet grass — 
The porch-rails hold it in translucent drops, 

And as the cattle from th' enclosure pass, 
Each one, alternate, slowly halts and crops 

The tall, green spears, with all their dewy load, 

Which grow beside the well-known pasture-road. 

A lustrous polish is on all the leaves — 

The birds flit in and out with varied notes — 

The noisy swallows twitter 'neath the eaves — 
A partridge-whistle thro' the garden floats, 

While yonder gaudy peacock harshly cries, 

As red and gold flush all the eastern skies. 

40 



Three Suminer Studies. 

Up comes the sun : thro' the dense leaves a spot 
Of splendid light drinks up the dew ; the breeze 

Which late made leafy music dies ; the day grows hot, 
And slumbrous sounds come from marauding bees : 

The burnish'd river like a sword-blade shines, 

Save where 'tis shadow'd by the solemn pines. 

4 1 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves, 



II. 

OVER the farm is brooding silence now — 
No reaper's song — no raven's clangor harsh — 
No bleat of sheep — no distant low of cow — 

No croak of frogs within the spreading marsh — 
No bragging cock from litter'd farm -yard crows, 
The scene is steep'd in silence and repose. 

A trembling haze hangs over all the fields — 

The panting cattle in the river stand 
Seeking the coolness which its wave scarce yields. 

It seems a Sabbath thro' the drowsy land : 
So hush'd is all beneath the Summer's spell, 
I pause and listen for some faint church bell. 

The leaves are motionless — the song-bird's mute — 
The very air seems somnolent and sick : 

The spreading branches with o'er-ripen'd fruit 
Show in the sunshine all their clusters thick, 

While now and then a mellow apple falls 

With a dull sound within the orchard's walls. 

The sky has but one solitary cloud, 

Like a dark island in a sea of light ; 
The parching furrows 'twixt the corn-rows plough'd 

Seem fairly dancing in my dazzled sight, 
While over yonder road a dusty haze 
Grows reddish purple in the sultry blaze. 

42 



lliree Summer Studies. 



III. 



THAT solitary cloud grows dark and wide, 
While distant thunder rumbles in the air, 
A fitful ripple breaks the river's tide — 

The lazy cattle are no longer there, 
But homeward come in long procession slow, 
With many a bleat and many a plaintive low. 

Darker and wider-spreading o'er the west 
Advancing clouds, each in fantastic form, 

And mirror'd turrets on the river's breast 
Tell in advance the coming of a storm — 

Closer and brighter glares the lightning's flash 

And louder, nearer, sounds the thunder's crash. 

The air of evening is intensely hot, 

The breeze feels heated as it fans my brows — 

Now sullen rain-drops patter down like shot — 
Strike in the grass, or rattle 'mid the boughs. 

A sultry lull : and then a gust again, 

And now I see the thick-advancing rain. 

It fairly hisses as it comes along, 

And where it strikes bounds up again in spray 
As if 'twere dancing to the fitful song 

Made by the trees, which twist themselves and sway 
In contest with the wind which rises fast, 
Until the breeze becomes a furious blast. 

43 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

And now, the sudden, fitful storm has fled, 
The clouds lie pil'd up in the splendid west, 

In massive shadow tipp'd with purplish red, 
Crimson or gold. The scene is one of rest ; 

And on the bosom of yon still lagoon 

I see the crescent of the pallid moon. 

44 




Crawford's Statue of Washington, 
in the Capitol Square, Richmond, Virginia. 



The Washington Memorial Ode. 



THE WASHINGTON MEMORIAL ODE. 

CERTAIN events, like architects, build up 
Viewless cathedrals, in whose aisles the cup 
Of some impressive sacrament is kist — 
Where thankful nations taste the Eucharist, 
Pressed to their lips by some heroic Past 
Enthroned like Pontiff in the temple vast — 
Where incense rises t'wards the dome sublime 
From golden censers in the hands of Time — 
Where through the smoke .some sculptured saint appears 
Crowned with the glories of historic years ; 
Before whose shrine whole races tell their beads — 
From whose pale front each sordid thought recedes, 
Gliding away like white and stealthy ghost, 
As Memory rears it's consecrated Host, 
As blood and body of a sacred name 
Make the last supper of some deathless fame. 

This the event ! Here springs the temple grand, 
Whose mighty arches take in all the land ! 
Its twilight aisles stretch far away and reach 
'Mid lights and shadows which defy my speech : 
And near its portal which Morn opened wide — 
Grey Janitor ! — to let in all this tide 
Of prayerful men, most solemnly there stands 

45 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

One recollection, which, for pious hands 

Is ready like the Minster's sculptured vase, 

With holy water for each reverent face. 

And mystic columns, which my fancy views, 

Glow in a thousand soft, subduing hues 

Flung through the stained windows of the Past in gloom, 

Of royal purple o'er our warrior's tomb. 



Oh, proud old Commonwealth ! thy sacred name 
Makes frequent music on the lips of Fame! 
And as the nation, in it's onward march, 
Thunders beneath the Union's mighty arch, 
Thine the bold front which every patriot sees 
The stateliest figure on its massive frieze. 
Oh, proud old State ! well may thy form be grand, 
'Twas thine to give a Savior to the land. 
For, in the past, when upward rose the cry, 
" Save or we perish !" thine 'twas to supply 
The master-spirit of the storm whose will 
Said to the billows in their wrath : " Be still !" 
And though a great calm followed, 3'et the age 
In which he saw that mad tornado rage 
Made in its cares and wild tempestuous strife 
One solemn Passion of his noble life. 

This day, then, Countrymen of all the year, 
We well may claim to be without a peer : 
Amid the rest — impalpable and vast — 

46 



The Washing-ton Memorial Ode. 

-_ 
It stands a Cheops looming through the'past, 
Close to the rushing, patriotic Nile 
Which here o'erflows our hearts to make them smile 
With a rich harvest of devoted zeal, 
Men of Virginia, for the Common-weal! 

And to our Bethlehem ye who come to-day — 
Ye who compose this multitude's array — 
Ye who are here from mighty Northern marts 
With frankincense and myrrh within your hearts — 
Ye who are here from the gigantic West, 
The offspring nurtured at Virginia's breast, 
Which in development by magic seems 
Straight to embody all that Progress dreams — 
Ye who are here from summer- wedded lands — 
From Carolina's woods to Tampa's sands, 
From Florida to Texas broad and free 
Where spreads the prairie, like a dark, green sea — 
Ye whose bold fathers from Virginia went 
In wilds to pitch brave enterprise's tent, 
Spreading our faith and social system wide, 
By which we stand peculiarly allied ! — 
Ye Southern men, whose work is but begun, 
Whose course is on t'ward regions of the sun, 
Whose brave battalions moved to tropic sods 
Solemn and certain as though marching gods 
Were ordered in their circumstance and state 
Beneath the banner of resistless Fate ! 



47 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Ye have been welcomed, Countrymen, by him* 

Beside whose speech my rhetoric grows dim — 

Whose thoughts are flint and steel — whose words are 

flame, 
For they all stir us like some hero's name : 
But once again the Commonwealth extends 
Her open hand in welcome to her friends ; 
Come ye from North, or South, or West, or East, 
No bull's head enters at Virginia's feast. 
And ye who've journeyed hither from afar, 
Know that fair Freedom's liquid morning star 
Still sheds it's glories in a thousand beams, 
Gilding our forests, fountains, mountains, streams, 
With light as luminous as on that morn 
When the Messiah of the land was born. 
Then as we here partake the mystic rites 
To which his memory like a priest invites ; 
Kneeling beside the altars of this day, 
Let every heart subdued one moment pray, 

That He who lit our morning star's pure light 
Will never blot it from the nation's sight; 
That He will banish those portentous clouds 
Which from so many its effulgence shrouds — 
Which none will deem me Hamlet-mad when I 
Say hang like banners on the darkened sky, 
Suggesting perils in their warlike shape, 
Which Heavenly Father grant that we escape ! 



* Governor Wise. 



The Washington Memorial Ode. 

***** 
Why touch upon these topics, do you ask? 
Why blend these themes with my allotted task? 
My answer's brief, 'tis, Citizens, because 
I see fierce warfare made upon the Laws. 
A people's poets are that people's seers, 
The prophet's faculty, in part, is theirs, 
And thus 'tis fit that from this statue's base, 
Beneath great Washington's majestic face, 
That I should point the dangers which menace 
Our social temple's symmetry and grace. 

***** 

But here I pause, for happier omens look, 
And playing Flamen turn to Nature's book : 
Where late rich Autumn sat on golden throne, 
A stern usurper makes the crown his own ; 
The courtier woodlands, robbed of all their state, 
Stripped of their pomp, look grim and desolate ; 
Reluctant conscripts, clad in icy mail, 
Their captive pleadings rise on every gale. 
Now mighty oaks stand like bereaved Lears ; 
Pennons are furled on all the sedgy spears 
Where the sad river glides between its banks, 
Like beaten general twixt his pompless ranks ; 
And the earth's bosom, clad in armor now, 
Bids stern defiance to the iron plough, 
While o'er the fields so desolate and damp 
Invading Winter spreads his hostile camp.* 

*The statue was unveiled in a snow-storm. 
4 49 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

And as he shakes his helmet's snowy plume 
The landscape saddens into deeper gloom. 
But yet ere many moons have flung to lea, 
To begging billows of the hungry sea, 
Their generous gold — like oriental queens — 
A change will pass o'er all these wintry scenes ; 
There'll come the coronation of glad Spring, 
Grander than any made for bride of king. 



Earth's hodden grey will change to livelier hues 
Enriched with pearl drops of the limpid dews ; 
Plenty will stand with her large tranquil eyes 
To see her treasures o'er the landscape rise. 
Thus may the lover of his country hope 
To see again the Nation's spring-tide ope, 
And freedom's harvest turn to ripened gold, 
So that our world may give unto the old 
Of its great opulence, as Joseph gave 
Bread to his brothers when they came to crave. 

But from his name I've paused too long you think? 
Yet he who stands beside Niagra's brink 
Breaketh not forth at once of its grand strife ; 
'Tis thus I stand subdued by his great life — 



And with his name a host of others rise, 
Climbing like planets, Fame's eternal skies : 
Great names, my Brothers ! with such deeds allied 

50 



The Washington Memorial Ode. 



'£> 



That all Virginians glow with filial pride — 

That here the multitude shall daily pace 

Around this statue's hero-circled base, 

Thinking on those who, though long sunk in sleep, 

Still round our camp the guard of sentries keep — 

Who when a foe encroaches on our line, 

Prompt the stern challenge for the countersign— 

Who with proud memories feed our bright watch-fire 

Which ne'er has faded, never will expire ; 

Grand benedictions, they in bronze will stand 

To guard and consecrate our native land ! 

i Great names are theirs ! But his, like battle song, 

I In quicker current sends our blood along ; 

i For at its music hearts throb, quick and large, 
Like those of horsemen thundering in the charge. 

i God's own Knight-Errant ! There his figure stands ! 

I Our souls are full — our bonnets in our hands! 



I When the fierce torrent — lava-like — of bronze 
i To mould this statue burst it furnace bonds, 
When it out-thundered in its liquid flow, 
With splendid flame and scintillating glow, 
, 'Twas in its wild tumultuous throb and storm 
! Type of the age which moulded into form 
I The god-like character of him sublime, 
I Whose name is reared a statue for all time 
In the great minster of the whole world's heart. 



51 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

I've called his name a statue. Stern and vast 
It rests enthroned upon the mighty past : 
Fit plinth for him whose image in the mind 
Looms up as that of one by God designed ! 
Fit plinth in sooth ! the mighty past for him 
Whose simple name is Glory's synonyme ! 
E'en Fancy's self, in her enchanted sleep, 
Can dream no future which may cease to keep 
His name in guard, like sentinel and cry 
From Time's great bastions : " It shall never dit 



His simple name a statue? Yes, and grand 

'Tis reared in this and every other land. 

Around its base a group more noble stands 

Than e'er was carved by human sculptor's hands, 

E'en though each form, like that of old should flush 

With vivid beauty's animating blush — 

Though dusky bronze, or pallid stone should thrill 

With sudden life at some Pygmalion's will — 

For these great figures, with his own enshrined, 

Are seen, my Countrymen, by men, though blind. 

There Valor fronts us with her storied shield, 
Brave in devices won on many a field ; 
A splendid wreath snatched from the carnage grim 
Is twined around that buckler's burnished rim, 
And as we gaze, the brazen trumpets blare 
With shrill vibration shakes the frightened air — 
The roll of musketry — the clash of steel — 

52 



The Washington Memorial Ode. 

The clang of hoofs as charging squadrons wheel — 
The hoarse command — the implicative cry — 
Swell loud and long, while Fancy's eager eye 
Sees the stern van move on with crimson strides 
Where Freedom's warrior on his war-horse rides, 
Sees the great cannon flash out red and fast 
Through battle mists which canopy the past. 

And solemn-fronted Truth with earnest eyes, 
Stands there serenely beautiful and wise ; 
Her stately form in undisturbed repose, 
Rests by her well, where limpid crystal flows 
While on her face, which can severely frown, 
A smile is breaking as she gazes down ; 
For clearly marked upon that tranquil wave 
Slumbers his image in a picture brave, 
And leaning on the fountain's coping stone, 
She scarce can tell his shadow from her own. 

And Wisdom, with her meditative gaze, 
Beside its base her mighty chart displays ; 
There with her solemn and impressive hand 
Writes as she stoops — as Christ wrote on the sand- 
But what she traces all may read — 'tis this : 
An invocation by our dreams of bliss — 
By hopes to do and by our great deeds done, 
The war of sections tl'tio'.albtime \.o shun — 
She writec tjie'.words which almost seem divine, 
"Our deadliest, foe 's,a geog/aphic line!" 
And Justice., with her face severely grand, 

53 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Stands 'mid the group, her balances in hand : 
Faultless in judging trivial deeds, or great, 
Unmoved by love and unimpressed by hate. 
Beside her gleams undimmed by spot, or rust, 
A mighty blade to strike when strike she must ; 
And this bright falchion like that which defends 
The guarded gate where earth in Eden ends, 
With flame terrific and with ponderous sway 
Frightens each Brennus from her scales away. 

And there we see pale, pleading Mercy bow, 
A troubled shadow on her saintly brow ; 
Her fringed lashes tremulous with tears, 
Which glitter still through all the change of years 
And as we see those tear drops slowly rise, 
Giving new softness to her tender eyes, 
Away the mists which o'er the dark past drift 
Are rent and scattered, while the sudden rift 
Shows, like some distant headland vast and dim 
Seen through the tempest, the great soul of him 
Who guarding against the native traitor, could 
Turn from her pleadings for his country's good. 

And Honor last completes the stately group, 
With eye like eagle's in descending swoop, 
Fronted like goddess beautiful and proud 
When sailing on the ", Itfzy-p&cmg'cloud " : -• 
Prouder her port than* that 'of' ? 11. the rest"/ 
With radiant forehead 'and translucent breast, 
She needs no gesture of 'supreme command 

54 



The Washington Memorial Ode, 

For us to know her foremost of the band : 

They were his counsellors, she as the mind 

By which their promptings were in deeds combined- 

In deeds which Fame, like fasces bears before 

The noblest consul that earth ever bore. 



Why are we here ? It were a bitter shame 
To pay this homage to a hero's name, 
And yet forget the principles which gave 
His true defiance to oblivion's wave ! 
Aye ! Sirs, remember when the day is spent, 
In Freedom's camp our soldier pitched his tent! 
Maintain your own — respect your brother's right- 
Thus will you praise Jehovah's belted Knight. 

Are we Pompeians gathered here to-day, 
Gazing upon our last superb display? 
Crowning the hours with many a festal wreath, 
While red Vesuvius bubbles underneath? 
Oh ! no, my Countrymen ! This cloud must be 
The smoke of incense floating o'er the free ! 
No lava-flood can e'er o'erwhelm this land, 
Held as 'tis holden, in God's mighty hand. 

And when the garlands of to-day are pale, 
Shall clang of armorers riveting our mail 
Rise in harsh dissonance where now the song 
In surging music sweeps the land along? 
No, Brothers, no ! The Providence on high 

55 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Stretches above us like the arching sky ; 
As o'er the world that broad empyrean field, 
So o'er the nation God's protecting shield ! 



His the great will which sways the tide of earth — 
His the great will which giveth empires birth — 
And this grand truth through every age and clime 
Is written out in characters sublime ; 
But most we see the traces of His hand 
In the great Epic of our native land. 

This new world had its Adam and he fled — 
God's was the voice and God's the mighty tread 
Which scared the red man from his Eden bowers 
God's the decree which made the garden ours ! 
And Eden 'twas and such it still remains : 
Oh, Brothers! shall we prove a race of Cains? 
Shall impious hands be armed with deadly things. 
Because we bring up different offerings 
Unto our altars? To the Nation's shrine 
I take my gift ; my brother, take thou thine ! 
Again I ask : While this proud bronze remains, 
Shall this great people prove a race of Cains? 
Here make your answer at this statue's base, 
Beneath this warrior's calm, majestic face ; 
And here remember that your best applause 
To him is shown in standing by the Laws! 
But if our rights shall ever be denied, 

56 



The Washington Memorial Ode. 

I call upon you, by your race's pride, 
To seek some "West Augusta" and unfurl 
Our banner where the mountain vapors curl : 
Lowland and valley then will swell the cry, 
He left us free : thus will we live, or die ! 
One other word, Virginia, hear thy son, 
Whose filial service now is nearly done — 
Hear me old State ! Thou art supremely blest : 
A hero's ashes slumber in thy breast ! 
Oh, Mother ! if the ashes of a king 

Could nerve to deeds with which Fame's trumpets ring, 
What glove of challenger shall make thee start, 
When thy great son lies sleeping on thy heart ! 

*57 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 



HOW IT FELL CALM ON SUMMER NIGHT. 

AY Lady's rest was calm and deep : 
She had been gazing at the moon ; 
And thus it chanced she fell asleep 
One balmy night in June. 

Freebooter winds stole richest smells 
From roses bursting in the gloom, 

And rifled half-blown daffodils, 
And lilies of perfume. 

These dainty robbers of the South 

Found " beauty " sunk in deep repose, 

And seized upon her crimson mouth, 
Thinking her lips a rose. 

The wooing winds made love full fast — 
To rouse her up in vain they tried — 

They kist and kist her, till, at last, 
In ecstasy they died. 
58 



A Friend of Mine. 



A FRIEND OF MINE. 

WE sat beneath tall waving trees that flung 
Their heavy shadows o'er the dewy grass. 
Over the waters, breaking at our feet, 
Quivered the moon, and lighted solemnly 
The scene before us. 

He with whom I talked 

Was in the noble vigor of his youth : 

Tall, much beyond the standard, and well knit, 

With a dark, Norman face, from which the breeze 

Flung back his locks of ebon darkness which 

In rare luxuriance fell around his brow,. 

That, in its massive beauty, brought me up 

Pictures by ancient masters ; or the sharp 

And perfect features carved by Grecian hands, 

In days when Gods, in forms worthy of Gods, 

Started from marble to bewitch the world — 

A brow so beautiful was his, that one 

Might well conceive it always bound with dreams ; 

His eyes were luminous and full of gleams, 

That made me think of waves wherein I've seen 

The moon-hued lightning breaking in the dark 

With sudden flashes of phosphoric light : 

His cheeks were bronze, his firm lips scarlet-hued. 

59 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

The Roman's valor, the Assyrian's love 
Of ease and pomp sat on his crimson lips, 
Uneasy rulers on the self-same throne, 
Spoiling the empire of the soul within : 
Such was his face. 



His thoughts went forth like emperors, and all 
His words arrayed themselves around them like 
Imperial guards. 

***** 

Opinions which I had been taught to hold 
As full of pith and gravity, he took 
As 'twere, 'twixt thumb and finger of his wit — 
Rubbed off their gloss, until they seemed to me, 
All, as he said, varnished hypocrisies. 

Most wise for one so young ! and strangely read 
In books of quaint philosophy — although 
His mind's strange alchemy could find some 
Rich thought hidden in the basest thing, 
Which he transmuted into golden words, 
So that in hearing him I often thought 
Upon the story of that Saint whose mouth 
Was radiant with the angel's blessed touch, 
Which gave him superhuman eloquence ; 
And though he was thus gifted, yet — ah me ! 



60 



A Friend of Mine. 

Still earnest with my theme, I bade him think 
Of Auerbach's cellar, and that wassail night 
Whole centuries ago : and then in phrase, 
Better than that which cometh to me now 
I likened it — the necromancy which 
Drew richest vintage from the rugged boards — 
Unto the spell wherewith he'd bound himself — 
The spell by which he drew from simplest things 
Conceptions beautiful, as Faust drew wine 
From the rude table ; for this friend of mine 
Was a true poet, though he seldom wrote : 
The wealth which might have royally endowed 
Some noble charity for coming time 
Was idly wasted — pearls dissolved in wine — 



Still on my theme I hung and pointed out, 

Full eagerly, how Mephistopheles 

Ordered the gimlet wherewith it was drawn : 



But he who went his way that summer night, 
Beneath the shadow of those stately trees 
Comes back to me — to earth — ah ! nevermore. 



He fell obscurely in the common ranks — 
His keen sword rusted in it's splendid sheath. 
God pardon him his faults ! for faults he had ; 

61 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

But oh ! so blent with goodness, that the while 
The lip of every theory of his 
Curved with a sneer, each action smiled 
With Christian charity. 

Like Manfred he had summoned to his aid 
Forbidden ministers — but unlike his — 
Of the earth, earthy, which did slowly clutch 
Upon his lofty faculties until 

They summoned him from the lone tow'r of thought 
And false philosophy wherein he dwelt. 
God pardon him ! Amen. 

62 



Indolence. 



INDOLENCE.* 



I TURN aside ; and, in the pause, might start 
As Mem'ry's elbow leans upon Time's Chart, 
Which shows, alas ! how soon all men must glide 
Over meridians on life's ocean tide — 
Meridians showing how both youth and sage 
Are sailing northward to the zone of age : 
On to an atmosphere of gloom I wist, 
Where mariners are lost in melancholy mist. 
But gayer thoughts, like spring-tide swallows, dart 
Through youth's brave mind and animate its heart. 



But Indolence is seen a pallid Ruth — 
A timid gleaner in the fields of youth — 
A wretched gath'rer of the scattered grain 
Left by the reapers who have swept the plain ; 
But with no Boaz standing by the while, 
To watch its figure with approving smile. 



(*From a Poem pronounced before the Phi Beta Kappa Society and grad- 
uating classes of William and Mary College, July 4th, 1858.) 

63 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 



THE JAMESTOWN ANNIVERSARY ODE. 



IN those vast forests dwelt a race of kings, 
Free as the eagle when he spreads his wings — 
His wings which never in their wild flight lag — 
In mists which fly the fierce tornado's flag ; 
Their flight the eagle's ! and their name, alas ! 
The eagle's shadow swooping o'er the grass, 
Or, as it fades, it well may seem to be 
The shade of tempest driven o'er the sea. 

Fierce, too, this race, as mountain torrent wild, 
With haughty hearts, where Mercy rarely smiled — 
All their traditions — histories imbued 
With tales of war and sanguinary feud, 
Yet though they never couched the knightly lance, 
The glowing songs of Europe's old romance 
Can find their parallels amid the race, 
Which, on this spot, met England face to face. 
And when they met the white man, hand to hand, 
Twilight and sunrise stood upon the strand — 
Twilight and sunrise? Saxon sunshine gleams 
To-day o'er prairies and those distant streams, 
Which hurry onward through far Western plains, 
Where the last Indian, for a season, reigns. 

64 



The Jamestown Anniversary Ode. 

Here, the red Canute on this spot, sat down, 
His splendid forehead stormy with a frown, 
To quell, with the wild lightning of his glance 
The swift encroachment of the wave's advance ; 
To meet and check the ruthless tide which rose, 
Crest after crest of energetic foes, 
While high and strong'poured on each cruel wave, 
Until they left his royalty — a grave ; 
But, o'er this wild, tumultuous deluge glows 
A vision fair as Heaven to saint e'er shows ; 
A dove of mercy o'er the billows dark 
Fluttered awhile then fled within God's ark. 
Had I the power, I'd reverently describe 
That peerless maid — the " pearl of all her tribe," 
As evening fair, when coming night and day 
Contend together which shall wield its sway. 
But, here abashed, my paltry fancy stays ; 
For her, too humble its most stately lays. 
A shade of twilight's softest, sweetest gloom — 
The dusk of morning — found a splendid tomb 
In England's glare ; so strange, so vast, so bright, 
The dusk of morning burst in splendid light, 
Which falleth through the Past's cathedral aisles, 
Till sculptured Mercy like a seraph smiles. 
And though Fame's grand and consecrated fane 
. No kingly statue may, in time, retain, 
Her name shall linger, nor with age grow faint ; 
Its simple sound — the image of a saint. 
5 65 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Sad is the story of that maiden's race, 

Long driven from each legendary place. 

All their expansive hunting-grounds are now 

Torn by the iron of the Saxon's plough, 

Which turns up skulls and arrow-heads and bones — 

Their places nameless and unmarked by stones. 

Now freighted vessels toil along the view, 

Where once was seen the Indian's bark canoe ; 

And to the woods the shrill escaping steam 

Proclaims our triumph in discordant scream. 

Where rose the wigwam in its sylvan shade, 

Where the bold hunter in his freedom strayed, 

And met his foe or chased the bounding stag, 

The lazy horses at the harrow lag. 

Where the rude dance was held or war-song rose, 

The scene is one of plenty and repose. 

The quiver of her race is empty now, 

Its bow lies broken underneath the plough ; 

And where the wheat-fields ripple in the gale, 

The vanished hunter scarcely leaves a trail. 

'Twas where yon river musically flows, 

The European's nomenclature rose ; 

A keen-edged axe, which since, alas ! has swept 

Away their names — those boughs, which blossoms kept, 

Leaving so few, that when their story's drowned, 

'Twill sink, alas ! with no fair garland crowned. 

What strange vicissitudes and perils fell 

On the first settlers 'tis not mine to tell ; 

I scarce may pause to syllable the name 



The Jamestown Anniversary Ode. 

Which the great Captain left behind to fame ; 
A name which echoes through the tented past 
Like sound of charge rung in a bugle's blast. 
His age, although it still put faith in stars, 
No longer glanced through feudal helmet's bars, 
But stood in its half armor ; thus stands he 
An image half of antique chivalry, 
And half presented to our eager eyes, 
The brilliant type of modern enterprise. 
A knightly blade, without one spot of rust, 
Undimmed by time and undefaced by dust, 
His name hangs up in that past age's hall, 
Where many hang, the brightest of them all. 

67 



A Wreath of Virgi?iia Bay Leaves. 



AN ELEGIAC ODE.* 



HE chastens us as nations and as men, 
He smites us sore until our pride doth yield, 
And hence our heroes, each with hearts for ten, 
Were vanquished in the field; 

And stand to-day beneath our Southern sun 
O'erthrown in battle and despoiled of hope, 

Their drums all silent and their cause undone, 
And they all left to grope 

In darkness till God's own appointed time 
In His own manner passeth fully by. 

Our Penance this. His Parable sublime 
Means we must learn to die. 



*It may not be out of place to state that this ode was written at the ex- 
press and urgent request of the ladies of Warren county, North Carolina, 
and recited by the author, August 8th, 1866, on the occasion of the comple- 
tion of the monument, erected by the ladies of Warren county, over the 
ashes of Miss Annie Carter Lee, who was the daughter of General Robert 
E.Lee and Mary Custis Lee; born at Arlington, Va., June 18th, 1339, and 
dfed at the White Sulphur Springs, Warren county, North Carolina, October 
20th, 1862. The monument was unveiled in the presence of a great con- 
course of people, and with Major-Generals G. W. C. Lee and W. H. F. Lee r 
in attendance, as representatives of their family. 

68 



An Elegiac Ode. 

Not as our soldiers died beneath their flags, 
Not as in tumult and in blood they fell, 

When from their columns, clad in homely rags, 
Rose the Confederate yell. 

Not as they died, though never mortal men 
Since Tubal Cain first forged his cruel blade 

Fought as they fought, nor ever shall agen 
Such Leader be obeyed ! 

No, not as died our knightly, soldier dead, 

Though they, I trust, have found above surcease 

For all life's troubles, but on Christian bed 
Should we depart in peace, 

Falling asleep like those whose gentle deeds 

Are governed through time's passions and its strife, 

So justly that we might erect new creeds 
From each well ordered life, 

Whose saintly lessons are so framed that we 
May learn that pain is but a text sublime, 

Teaching us how to learn at Sorrow's knee 
To value things of time. 

Thus thinking o'er life's promise-breaking dreams, 
Its lights and shadows made of hopes and fears, 

I say that Death is kinder than he seems, 
And not the King of Tears. 

69 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 



THE CADETS AT NEW MARKET.* 



THEIR sleep is made glorious, 
And dead they're victorious 
Over defeat ! 
Never Lethean billows 
Shall roll o'er their pillows, 

Red with the feet 
Of Mars from the wine press 
So bitterly sweet ! 

Sleeping, but glorious, 

Dead in Fame's portal, 
Dead, but victorious, 

Dead, but immortal ! 
They gave us great glory, 

What more could they give ? 
They have left us a story, 
A story to live — 
And blaze on the brows of the State like a crown, 
While from these grand mountains the rivers run down, 
While grass grows in graveyards, or the Ocean's deep 

calls, 
Their deeds and their glory shall fresco these walls. 



♦Delivered at Virginia Military Institute, 1870. 

70 



Our Heroic Dead. 



OUR HEROIC DEAD. 

I. 

A KING once said of a Prince struck down, 
" Taller he seems in death." 
And this speech holds truth, for now as then 
'Tis after death that we measure men, 
And as mists of the past are rolled away 
Our heroes, who died in their tattered gray, 
Grow " taller " and greater in all their parts 
Till they fill our minds as they fill our hearts. 
And for those who lament them there's this relief- 
That Glory sits by the side of Grief, 
Yes, they grow " taller" as the years pass by 
And the World learns how they could do and die. 

II. 
A Nation respects them. The East and West, 
The far-off slope of the Golden Coast, 
The stricken South and the North agree 
That the heroes who died for you and me — 
Each valiant man, in his own degree, 
Whether he fell on the shore or sea, 

Did deeds of which 

This Land, though rich 
In histories may boast, 
And the Sage's Book and the Poet's Lay 
Are full of the deeds of the Men in Gray. 
7i 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

III. 
No lion cleft from the rock is ours, 

Such as Lucerne displays, 
Our only wealth is in tears and flowers, 

And words of reverent praise. 
And the Roses brought to this silent Yard 

Are Red and White. Behold ! 

They tell how wars for a kingly crown, 

In the blood of England's best writ down, 

Left Britain a story whose moral old 

Is fit to be graven in text of gold : 

The moral is, that when battles cease 

The ramparts smile in the blooms of peace. 

And flowers to-day were hither brought 
From the gallant men who against us fought; 
York and Lancaster ! — Gray and Blue ! 
Each to itself and the other true — 

And so I say 

Our Men in Gray 
Have left to the South and North a tale 
Which none of the glories of Earth can pale. 

IV. 

Norfolk has names in the sleeping host 
Which fill us with mournful pride — 
Taylor and Newton, we well may boast, 
McPhail, and Walke, and Selden, too, 
Brave as the bravest, as truest true ! 
And Grandy struck down ere his May became June, 
72 



Our Heroic Dead. 

A battle-flag folded away too soon, 

And Williams, than whom not a man stood higher, 

'Mid the host of heroes baptized in fire. 

And Mallory, whose sires aforetime died, 

When Freedom and Danger stood side by side. 

Mcintosh, too, with his boarders slain, 

Saunders and Jackson, the unripe grain, 

And Taliaferro, stately as knight of old, 

A blade of steel with a sheath of gold. 

And Wright, who fell on the Crater's red sod, 

Giving life to the Cause, his soul to God. 

And there is another, whose portrait at length 

Should blend graces of Sidney with great Raleigh's 

strength. 
Ah, John Randolph Tucker ! * To match me this name 
You must climb to the top of the Temple of Fame ! 

These are random shots o'er the men at rest, 
But each rings out on a warrior's crest. 
Yes, names like bayonet points, when massed, 
Blaze out as we gaze on the splendid past. 

V. 

That past is now like an Arctic Sea 

Where the living currents have ceased to run, 

But over that past the fame of Lee 
Shines out as the " Midnight Sun : " 

And that glorious Orb, in its march sublime, 

Shall gild our graves till the end of time ! 

*Tliat splendid seaman, Admiral Tucker. 

73 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 



Y 



MAHONE'S BRIGADE.* 

A METRICAL ADDRESS. 
"In pace decus, in bello presidium." — Tacitus. 

I. 

OUR arms are stacked, your splendid colors furled, 
Your drums are still, aside your trumpets laid, 
But your dumb muskets once spoke to the world — 
And the world listened to Mahone's Brigade. 

Like waving plume upon Bellona's crest, 

Or comet in red majesty arrayed, 
Or Persia's flame transported to the West, 

Shall shine the glory of Mahone's Brigade. 

Not once, in all those years so dark and grim, 
Your columns from the path of duty strayed ; 

No craven act made your escutcheon dim — 

'Twas burnished with your blood, Mahone's Brigade. 

Not once on post, on march, in camp, or field, 
Was your brave leader's trust in you betrayed, 

And never yet has old Virginia's shield 

Suffered dishonor through Mahone's Brigade. 



♦Recited at Norfolk Opera House, July 30, 1876, the twelfth anniversary 
of the Battle of the Crater, and second reunion of survivors of Mahone's 
old brigade. 

74 



Mahone's Brigade 



o 



Who has forgotten at the deadly Mine, 

How our great Captain of great Captains bade 

Your General to retake the captured line? 

How it was done, you know, Mahone's Brigade. 

Who has forgotten how th' undying dead, 

And you, yourselves, won that for which Lee prayed? 

Who has forgotten how th' Immortal said : 

That "heroes" swept that field, Mahone's Brigade? 

From the far right, beneath the " stars and bars," 
You marched amain to Bushrod Johnson's aid, 

And when you charged — an arrow shot by Mars 
Went forward in your rush, Mahone's Brigade. 

In front stood death. * Such task as yours before 
By mortal man has rarely been essayed, 

There you defeated Burnside's boasted corps, 
And did an army's work, Mahone's Brigade. 

And those who led you, field, or line, or staff, 

Showed they were fit for more than mere parade \ 

Their motto : " Victory or an epitaph," 

And well they did their part, Mahone's Brigaded 

II. 

Were mine the gift to coin my heart of hearts 
In living words, fit tribute should be paid 

To all the heroes whose enacted parts 

Gave fame immortal to Mahone's Brigade. 

75 



A Wreath of Virgi?iia Bay Leaves. 

But he who bore the musket is the man 

Whose figure should for future time be made — 

Cleft from a rock by some new Thorwaldsen — 
The Private Soldier of Mahone's Brigade. 

His was that sense of duty only felt 
By souls heroic. In the modest shade 

He lived, or fell ; but his, Fame's Starry Belt — 
His, Fame's own Galaxy, Mahone's Brigade. 

And in that Belt — all luminous with stars, 
Unnamed and woven in a wondrous braid — 

A blaze of glory in the sky of Mars — 

Your orbs are thickly set, Mahone's Brigade. 

The Private Soldier is the man who comes 

From mart, or plain, or grange, or sylvan glade, 

To answer calls of trumpets and of drums — 
So came the Soldier of Mahone's Brigade. 

His messmate, hunger ; comrades, heat and cold ; 

His decorations, death or wounds, conveyed 
To the brave patriot in ways manifold — 

But yet he flinched not in Mahone's Brigade. 

When needing bread, Fate gave him but a stone ; 

Ragged, he answered when the trumpet brayed ; 
Barefoot he marched, or died without a groan ; 

True to his battle-flag, Mahone's Brigade. 

Could some Supreme Intelligence proclaim, 
Arise from all the pomp of rank and grade, 
76 



Mahone's Brigade. 

War's truest heroes, oft we'd hear some name, 
Unmentioned by the world, Mahone's Brigade. 

And yet they have a name, enriched with thanks 
And tears and homage — which shall never fade — 

Their name is simply this : Men of the Ranks — 

The Knights without their spurs — Mahone's Brigade. 

And though unbelted and without their spurs, 
To them is due Fame's splendid accolade ; 

And theirs the story which to-day still stirs 
The pulses of your heart, Mahone's Brigade. 

Men of the Ranks, step proudly to the front, 

'Twas yours unknown through sheeted flame to wade, 

In the red battle's fierce and deadly brunt ; 
Yours be full laurels in Mahone's Brigade. 

III. 
For those who fell be yours the sacred trust 

To see forgetfulness, shall not invade 
The spots made holy by their noble dust; 

Green keep them in your hearts, Mahone's Brigade. 

Oh, keep them green with patriotic tears ! 

Forget not, now war's fever is allayed, 
Those valiant men, who, in the vanished years, 

Kept step with you in ranks, Mahone's Brigade. 

Each circling year, in the sweet month of May, 
Your countrywomen — matron and fair maid — 
77 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Still pay their tribute to the Soldier's clay, 

And strew his grave with flow'rs, Mahone's Brigade. 

Join in the task, with retrospective eye ; 

Men's mem'ries should not perish 'neath the spade ; 
Pay homage to the dead, whose dying cry 

Was for the Commonwealth, Mahone's Brigade. 

Raise up, O State ! a shaft to pierce the sky. 
To him, the Private, who was but atraid 

To fail in his full duty — not to die ; 

And on its base engrave, " Mahone's Brigade." 

IV. 

Now that the work of blood and tears is done, 
Whether of stern assault, or sudden raid, 

Yours is a record second yet to none — 

None takes your right in line, Mahone's Brigade. 

Now that we've lost, as was fore-doomed, the day — 
Now that the good by ill has been outweighed — 

Let us plant olives on the rugged way, 

Once proudly trodden by Mahone's Brigade. 

And when some far-stretchen future folds the past, 

To us so recent, in its purple shade, 
High up, as if on some " tall Admiral's mast," 

Shall fly your battle-flags, Mahone's Brigade. 

7S 



Mahone's Brigade. 

V. 

Each battle-flag shall float abroad and fling 
A radiance round, as from a new-lit star ; 

Or light the air about, as when a King 
Flashes in armor in his royal car ; 

And Fame's own vestibule I see inlaid 

With their proud images, Mahone's Brigade. 

Your battle-flags shall fly throughout all time, 
By History's self exultingly unfurled ; 

And stately prose, and loud-resounding rhyme, 
Nobler than mine, shall tell to all the world 

How dauntless moved, and how all undismayed, 

Through good and ill stood Mahone's Brigade. 

O glorious flags ! No victory could stain 

Your tattered folds with one unworthy deed, 

O glorious flags ! No country shall again 
Fly nobler symbols in its hour of need. 

Success stained not, nor could defeat degrade ; 

Spotless they float to-day, Mahone's Brigade. 

Immortal flags, upon Time's breezes flung, 
Seen by the mind in forests, or in marts, 

Cherished in visions, praised from tongue to tongue, 
Wrapped in the very fibres of your hearts, 

And gazing on them, none may dare upbraid 

Your Leader, or your men, Mahone's Brigade. 

79 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

VI. 

That splendid Leader's name is yours, and he 
Flesh of your flesh, himself bone of your bone, 

His simple name maketh a history, 

Which stands, itself grand, glorious and alone, 

Or, 'tis a trophy, splendidly arrayed, 

With all your battle-flags, Mahone's Brigade. 

His name itself a 'history? Yes, and none 

May halt me here. In war and peace 
It challenges the full rays of the sun ; 

And when the passions of our day shall cease, 
'Twill stand undying, for all time displayed, 
Itself a battle-flag, Mahone's Brigade. 

He rose successor of that mighty man 

Who was the " right arm "* of immortal Lee ; 

Whose genius put defeat beneath a ban ; 

Who swept the field as tempest sweeps the sea ; 

Who fought full hard, and yet full harder prayed. 

You knew that man full well, Mahone's Brigade. 

And here that great man's shadow claims a place ; 

Within my mind I see his image rise, 
With Cromwell's will and Havelock's Christian grace ; 

As daring as the Swede, as Frederick wise ; 
Swift as Napoleon ere his hopes decayed ; 
Y^ou knew the hero well, Mahone's Brigade. 



Stonewall Jackson. 

So 



Mahone's Brigade. 

And when he fell his fall shook all the land, 
As falling oak shakes mountain side and glen; 

But soon men saw his good sword in the hand 
Of one, himself born leader among men, — 

Of him who led you through the fusilade, 

The storm of shot and shell, Mahone's Brigade. 

Immortal Lee, who triumphed o'er despair, 
Greater than all the heroes I have named, 

Whose life has made a Westminster where'er 
His name is spoken ; he, so wise and famed, 

Gave Jackson's duties unto him whose blade 

Was lightning to your storms, Mahone's Brigade. 

Ere Jackson fell Mahone shone day by day, 
A burnished lance amid that crop of spears, — 

None rose above him in that grand array ; 
And Lee, who stood Last of the Cavaliers, 

Knew he had found of War's stupendous trade, 

A Master at your head, Mahone's Brigade. 

O Countrymen ! I see the coming days 
When he, above all hinderances and lets 

Shall stand in Epic form, lit by the rays 
Of Fame's eternal sun that never sets, 

The first great chapter of his life is made, 

And spoken in two words — "Mahone's Brigade.' 

O Countrymen ! I see historic brass 

Leap from the furnace in a blazing tide ; 
6 81 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

I see it through strange transformations pass 

Into a form of energy and pride ; 
Beneath our Capitol's majestic shade 
In bronze I see Mahone — Mahone's Brigade. 

O Countrymen ! When dust has gone to dust, 
Still shall he live in story and in rhyme ; 

Then History's self shall multiply his bust, 
And he defy the silent Conqueror, Time. 

My song is sung : My prophecy is made — 

The State will make it good, Mahone's Brigade. 
82 



The Portsmouth Memorial Poem. 



THE PORTSMOUTH MEMORIAL POEM.— THE 
FUTURE HISTORIAN. 

OH the women of Old Portsmouth in their patience 
were sublime, 
As in working and in praying they abided God's own 

time ! 
Marble saints in a stately Minster, in some land across 

the sea, 
In a flood of Winter moonlight were not half so pure to 

me ! 
And your men in Grey were faithful ! they were counted 

with the best ! 
And where they fought no shadow fell on Old Virginia's 

crest. 
Rags in cold, bare feet in marches never turned your 

children back ; 
In retreat they loved the rearguard, in advance they 

loved attack ! 

Oh, my brothers ! I see figures which all flit athwart my 

brain, 
Like the torches lit by lightning in some tempest-driven 

rain, 
And above the rushing vision, in my soul I hear the cry : 
" Those who fell for Home and Duty left us names that 

cannot die ! " 

83 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

First, before the sleeping warriors, comes a gentle wo- 
man's face, 

Every mark Time made upon it seemed to add a Christian 
grace. 

Sister of the soldier's widow, mother of his orphan 
child, 

To us she seemed, indeed, as one on whom her God had 
smiled, 

Passed from our sight, sustained by Christ, she went 
upon her way, 

And be you sure, as I am, that her soul is here to-day ! 

Other names now blaze upon me, and they shine out one 

by one 
As the rays dart out a glitter from a shield hung in the sun. 
Fiske, and White, and brave Vermillion, fell on Malvern's 

deadly slope, 
When the cause that they defended was a-glow with life 

and hope. 
Gallant Butt, and two Neimeyers you may boast in mood 

of pride, 
Types were they of valiant soldiers, and like soldiers true 

they died ! 
And Grimes, at bloody Sharpsburg, went down prone 

upon the field, 
And Hodges, under Pickett, took his last sleep on his 

shield. 
And Cowley, and Forrest, and Wilson, and Cocke on 

your Window still blaze, 
S 4 



The Portsmouth Memorial Poem. 

And their names enrich its blazon in the evening's golden 

haze. 
Dunderdale, and Beaton, and Bennett, and Bingley, and 

Armistead, and Gayle, 
And Williams, the brave Color Sergeant, and Owens are 

men to bewail. 

Last, not least, there comes the Seaman, valiant Cooke, 

my cherished friend, 
Who was faithful to Virginia from beginning to the end ; 
Had the theatre been given he had played a Nelson's 

part, 
Or in Anson's place had written his prodigious log and 

chart. 
Carolina — may God bless her ! — gave that true man to 

the State, 
With a heart for any fortune and a soul for any fate. 
Seaman of the blue salt water ! On our narrow streams 

you taught, 
Highest lessons of devotion in the battles that you 

fought. 

Other names crowd fast upon me as stars thicken on the 

view, 
When the night comes down upon us, but I fix my gaze 

on two — 
As the " midland oak " of England is chief tree of all her 

trees — 
As the peak of Teneriffa is chief peak of all the seas — 

85 



A Wreath of Virgi7iia Bay Leaves. 

So our mighty Lee and Stonewall — greater names no era 

boasts — 
Shall exalt their Shades forever o'er the grand Confed- 
erate Hosts ! 
'Twas not glory that they fought for through those weary 

years of pain 
Though the glory fell upon them as it ne'er may fall 

again. 
That sentiment inspired them which lifts men to make 

them great, 
Love of hearthstone, friends, and neighbors, and devotion 

to the State. 
Not as rebels but as warriors they sent forth their famous 

cry — 
Not as traitors but as freemen they went forth to do or 

die! 

Then give the dead your tears, oh, friends, upon this day 

of days, 
And let a solemn joy resound in all your words of praise ! 
For honor still has claims on man, and duty still can call 
Above the sordid cares of life, the market and the stall. 
Yes, honor still has claims on man ! Thank God that 

this is so ! 
And there are heights of life where still all spotless lies 

the snow. 
Oh, better than lands and vast estates, or titles high and 

long 
The spirit of those whose deeds are fit to consecrate in 

Song ! 

86 



The Portsmoiitli Memorial Poem. 

When Regulus to Carthage went, and went back to keep 

his word, 
His great action preached a homily which all mankind 

has heard. 
It gave to the sacred cause of truth an impulse which 

still lives, 
And left the world the moral which a grand example 

gives. 
Here, within a nutshell's compass, the high argument 

appears 
Which the man who dies for duty in his dying moment 

cheers, 
And 'tis thus the Human Epic, acted out by all 

below, 
Takes a fuller pulse and cadence in its long-resounding 

flow. 

In the future some historian shall come forth both strong 

and wise, 
With a love of the Republic, and the truth, before his 

eyes. 
He will show the subtle causes of the war between the 

States, 
He will go back in his studies far beyond our modern 

dates, 
He will trace out hostile ideas as the miner does the 

lodes, 
He will show the different habits born of different social 

codes, 

g 7 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

He will show the Union riven, and the picture will de- 
plore, 

He will show it re-united and made stronger than before. 

Slow and patient, fair and truthful must the coming 
teacher be 

To show how the knife was sharpened that was ground 
to prune the tree. 

He will hold the Scales of Justice, he will measure praise 
and blame, 

And the South will stand the verdict, and will stand it 
without shame. 




Monument at Yorktown, Virginia. 



Arms and The Man. 



ARMS AND THE MAN. 

A Metrical Address recited on the one hundredth anniversary of 
the surrender of Lord Cornwaliis at Yorktown on invitation 
of a joint committee of the Senate and House of the United 
States Congress. 

Prologue. 

FULL-BURNISHED through the long-revolving 
years 
The ploughshare of a Century to-day 
Runs peaceful furrows where a crop of Spears 
Once stood in War's array. 

And we, like those who on the Trojan plain 

See hoary secrets wrenched from upturned sods ; — 

Who, in their fancy, hear resound again 
The battle-cry of gods ; — 

We now, — this splendid scene before us spread 
Where Freedom's full hexameter began — 

Restore our Epic, which the Nations read 
As far its thunders ran. 

Here visions throng on People and on Bard, 

Ranks all a-glitter in battalions massed 
And closed around as like a plumed guard, 

They lead us down the Past. 

89 



A W?-eath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

I see great Shapes in vague confusion march 
Like giant shadows, moving vast and slow, 

Beneath some torch-lit temple's mighty arch 
Where long processions go. 

I see these Shapes before me, all unfold, 
But ne'er can fix them on the lofty wall, 

Nor tell them, save as she of Endor told 
What she beheld to Saul. 

THE DEAD STATESMAN. 

I see his Shape who should have led these ranks— 
Garfield I see whose presence had evoked 

The stormy rapture of a Nation's thanks — 
His chariot stands unyoked ! 

Unyoked and empty, and the Charioteer 

To Fame's expanded arms has headlong rushed 

Ending the glories of a grand career, 
While all the world stood hushed. 

The thunder of his wheels is done, but he 

Sustained by patience, fortitude, and grace — 

A Christian Hero — from the struggle free — 
Has won the Christian's race ! 

His wheel-tracks stop not in the Valley cold 
But upward lead, and on, and up, and higher, 

Till Hope can realize and Faith behold 
His chariot mount in fire ! 
90 



Arms and The Man. 

Therefore, my Countrymen, lift up your hearts ! 

Therefore, my Countrymen, be not cast down ! 
He lives with those who well have done their parts, 

And God bestowed his crown ! 

And yet another form to-day I miss ; — 

Grigsby the scholar, good, and pure, and wise, 

Who now, perchance, from scenes of perfect bliss 
Looks down with tender eyes. 

Where his great friend, through life great Winthrop stands 

Winthrop, whose gift, in life's departing hours, 
Went to the dying Old Virginian's hands 



Prayers change to blooms, the ancient Rabbins taught ; 

So his, then, seemed to blossom forth and glow, 
As if his supplicating soul had brought 

Sandalphon down below. 

But, happily, that Winthrop stood to-day, 

The patriot, scholar, orator, and sage, 
To tell the meaning of this grand array 

And vindicate an Age. 



*Hugh Blair Grigsby, L.L. D., Chancellor of William and Mary College, 
and President of the 'Virginia Historical Society, Scholar and Historian, 
died on the day on which he received a gift of flowers from his life-long 
friend, Mr. Winthrop, and these literally gladdened the dying eyes of the 
noble gentleman whose loss will long be deplored by all who knew him, 
whether they live in Virginia or Massachusetts. 

91 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

That Era's life and meaning his to teach, 
To him the parchments, but the shell to me, 

His voice the voice of billows on the beach 
Wherein we heard the sea. 

My voice the voice of some sequestered stream 
Which only boasts, as on its waters glide, 

That, here and there, it shows a broken gleam 
Of pictures on its tide. 

II. 

The Colonies. 

The fountain of our story spreads no clouds 
Of mist above it rich in varied glows, 

None paint us Gods and Goddesses in crowds 
Where some Scamander flows. 

The tale of Jamestown, which I need not gild, 
W T ith that of Plymouth, by the World is seen, 

But none, in visions, fancifully build 
Olympus in between. 

At Jamestown stood the Saxon's home and graves, 
There Britain's spray broke on the native rock, 

There rose the English tide with crested waves 
And overwhelming shock. 

Virginia thence, stirred by a grand unrest, 

Swept o'er the waters, scaled the mountain's crag, 
92 



Arms and The Man. 

Hewed out a more than Roman roadway West, 
And planted there her flag. 

Her fortune was forewritten even then — 
That fortune in the coming years to be 

"Mother of States and unpolluted men," 
And nurse of Liberty. 

Then 'twas our coast all bore Virginia's name ; 

Next North Virginia took its separate place, 
And grew by slow degrees in wealth and fame 

And Freedom's special grace. 

THE NEW ENGLAND GROUP. 

At Plymouth Rock a handful of brave souls, 
Full-armed in faith, erected home and shrine, 

And flourished where the wild Atlantic rolls 
Its pyramids of brine. 

There rose a manly race austere and strong, 
On whom no lessons of their day were lost, 

Earnest as some conventicle's deep song, 
And keen as their own frost. 

But that shrewd frost became a friend to those 
Who fronted there the Ice-King's bitter storm, 

For see we not that underneath the snows 
The growing wheat keeps warm? 

Soft ease and silken opulence they spurned ; 
From sands of silver, and from emerald boughs 

93 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

With golden ingots laden full, they turned 
Like Pilgrims under vows. 

For them no tropic seas, no slumbrous calms, 
No rich abundance generously unrolled : 

In place of Cromwell's proffered flow'rs and palms 
They chose the long-drawn cold. 

The more it blew, the more they faced the gale ; 

The more it snowed, the more they would not freeze 
And when crops failed on sterile hill and vale — 

They went to reap the seas ! 

Far North, through wild and stormy brine they ran, 
With hands a-cold plucked Winter by the locks ! 

Masterful mastered great Leviathan 
And drove the foam as flocks ! 

Next in their order came the Middle Group, 

Perchance less hardy, but as brave they grew, — 

Grew straight and tall with not a bend, or stoop — 
Heart-timber through and through ! 

Midway between the ardent heat and cold 
They spread abroad, and by a homely spell, 

The iron of their axes changed to gold 
As fast the forests fell ! 

Doing the things they found to do, we see 

That thus they drew a mighty empire's charts, 

And, working for the present, took in fee 
The future for their marts ! 

94 



Arms and The Man. 

And there unchallenged may the boast be made, 
Although they do not hold his sacred dust, 

That Penn, the Founder, never once betrayed 
The simple Indian's trust. 

To them the genius which linked Silver Lakes 
With the blue Ocean and the outer World, 

And the fair banner, which their commerce shakes, 
Wise Clinton's hand unfurled. 

THE SOUTHERN COLONIES. 

Then sweeping down below Virginia's Capes, 
From Chesapeake to where Savannah flows, 

We find the settlers laughing 'mid their grapes 
And ignorant of snows. 

The fragrant upftowock, and golden corn 
Spread far a-field by river and lagoon, 

And all the months poured out from Plenty's Horn 
Were opulent as June. 

Yet, they had tragedies all dark and fell ! 

Lone Roanoke Island rises on the view, 
And this Peninsula its tale could tell 

Of Opecancanough ! 

But, when the Ocean thunders on the shore 
Its~waves, though broken, overflow the beach , 

So here our Fathers on and onward bore 
With English laws and speech. 
95 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Kind skies above them, underfoot rich soils; 

Silence and Savage at their presence fled ; 
This Giant's Causeway, sacred through their toils, 

Resounded at their tread. 

With ardent hearts, and ever-open hands, 

Candid and honest, brave and proud they grew, 

Their lives and habits colored by fair lands 
As skies give waters hue. 

The race in semi-Feudal State appears — 
Their Knightly figures glow in tender mist, 

With ghostly pennons flung from ghostly spears 
And ghostly hawks on wrist. 

By enterprise and high adventure stirred, 
From rude lunette and sentry-guarded croft 

They hawked at Empire, and, as on they spurred, 
Fate's falcon soared aloft ! 

Fate's falcon soared aloft full strong and free, 

With blood on talons, plumage, beak, and breast! 

Her shadow like a storm-shade on the sea 
Far-sailing down the West ! 

Swift hoofs clang out behind that Falcon's flights — 
Hoofs shod with Golden Horse Shoes catch the eye ! 

And as they ring, we see the Forest-Knights — 
The Cavaliers ride by ! 

96 



Arms and The Man. 

THE OLD DOMINION. 

Midway between the orange and the snows 

As some fair planet rounds up from the sea, 
Eldest of all, the Central Power arose 
In vague immensity. 

She stretched from Seas in sun to Lakes in Shad*.:. 

O'erstepped swift Rio Escondido's stream — 
Her bounds expressed, as by the Tudor made, 
An Alexander's dream. 

And liberal Stuart granted broad and free 

Bound'ries which still the annalist may boast — 
Limits which ran " throughout from sea to sea," 
And far along the coast ! 

A mighty shaft through Raleigh's fingers slipped. 

Smith shot it, and — a Continent awoke ! 
For that great arrow with an acorn tipped, 
Planted an English Oak ! 

III. 
The Oaks and the Tempest. 

Oaks multiplied apace, and o'er the seas 

Big rumors went in many a winding ring ; 
And stories fabulous on every breeze 
Swept to a distant King. 

Full many a tale of wild romance, and myth, 
In large hyperbole the New World told, 
7 97 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

And down from days of Raleigh and of Smith 
The Colonies meant gold. 

Not from Banchoonan's mines came forth the ore, 
But from the waters, and the woods, and fields, 
Paid for in blood, but bringing more and more 
The wealth that labor yields. 

Then seeing this, that King beyond the sea, 

The jus divinum filling all his soul, 
Bethought him that he held these lands in fee 
And absolute control. 

When this high claim in action was displayed 

With one accord the young Plantations spoke, 
And told him, English-like, they were not made 
To plough with such a yoke. 

Thus met, not his to falter, or to flag, 

A sudden fury seized the Royal breast — 
Prometheus bound upon a Scythian crag 
His policy expressed. 

And, so, he ordered in those stormy hours 
His adamantine chains for one and all, 
Brute "Force" and soulless "Strength" the only Powers 
On which he chose to call. 

Great men withstood him many a weary day ; 

In Press and Parliament full well they strove : 
But all in vain, for he was bound to play 
A travesty on Jove ! 
9 3 



Arms and The Man. 

Then flamed the crater ! And the flame took wing ; 

Furious and far the lava blazed around, 
Until at last, on this same spot that King 
His Herculaneum found ! 

Breed's Hill became Vesuvius, and its stream 

Rushed forth through years, a God-directed tide 
To light two Worlds and realize the dream 
For which brave Warren died. 

IV. 

The Embattled Colonies. 

Before this thought the present hour recedes, 
As from the beach a billow backward rolls, 
And the great past, rich in heroic deeds 
Illuminates our souls ! 

Stern Massachusetts Bay uplifts her form, 

Boston the tale of Lexington repeats, 
With breast unarmored she confronts the storm — 
New England England meets. 

I see the Middle Group by Fortune made 

The bloody Flanders of the Northern Coast, 
And, in a varying play of light and shade, 
Host thundering fall on host. 

I see the Carolinas, Georgia, mowed 

By War the Reaper, and grim Ruin stalk 
99 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

O'er wasted fields ; — but Guilford paved the way 
That led to this same York. 

Here, too, Virginia in the vision comes — 

Full-bent to crown the battle's closing arch, 
Her pulses trumpets and her heart throbs drums, 
To animate her march. 

As Pocahontas, in a by-gone time, 

Leaped forth the wrath of Powhatan to brave, 
Virginia came, and here she stood sublime 
To perish, or to save. 

I see her interposing now her frame 

Between her sisters and the alienbands, 
And taking both of Freedom and of Fame 
Full seisin with her hands. 

V. 

Welcome to France. 

But, in that fiery zone 
She upriseth not alone, 
Over all the bloody fields 
Glitter Amazonian shields ; 
While through the mists of years 
Another form appears, 
And as I bow my head 
Already you have said: — 
'Tis France ! 
ioo 



Arms and The Man. 

Welcome to France ! 
From sea to sea, 
With heart and hand ! 
Welcome to all within the land — 
Thrice welcome let her be ! 

And to France 
The Union here to-day 
Gives the right of this array, 
And folds her to her breast 
As the friend that she loves best. 

Yes to France. 
The proud Ruler of the West 
Bows her sun-illumined crest, 

Grave and slow, 
In a passion of fond memories of 

One hundred years ago ! 

France's colors wave again 
High above this tented plain, 
Stream and flaunt, and blaze and shine, 
O'er the banner-painted brine, 

Float and flow ! 
And the brazen trumpets blow 
While upon her serried lines, 
Full the light of Freedom shines 

In a broad, effulgent glow. 

And here this day I see 
The fairest dream that ever yet 

Was dreamt by History ! 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

As in cadence, and in time, 

To the martial throb and rhyme 

Of her bugles and her drums 

Forth a stately vision comes — 
Comes majestically slow — 
Comes a fair and stately vision of 

One hundred years ago ! 

Welcome to France ! 
From sea to sea, 
With heart and hand! 
Welcome to all within the land! 
Thrice welcome let her be ! 
Of Freedom's Guild made free! 
Welcome ! 

Thrice Welcome ! 
Welcome let her be ! 

And as in days of old 
Walter Raleigh did unfold 
His gay cloak, with all its hems 
Wrought in braided gold and gems, 
That his Queen might passing tread 
On the sumptuous cloth outspread, 
And step on the shining fold 
Or fair samnite rich in gold. 

So for France — 

Splendid, grand, majestic France ! — 
May Fortune down her mantle throw 

To mend the way that she may go ! 



Arms and The Man. 

May Glory leap before to reap — 
Up to the shoulders turned her sleeves — 

And Fame behind follow to bind 
Unnumbered honors in unnumbered sheaves ! 
And may that mantle forever be 
Under thy footfall, oh France the Free ! 

Forever and forever ! 

VI. 

The Allies at Yorktown. 

And here France came one hundred years ago ! 

Red, russet, purple glowed upon the trees, 
And sunset glories deepened in their glow 
Along the -painted seas. 

A wealth of color blazed on land and wave, 

Topaz and gold, and crimson met the eye — 
October hailed the ships which came to save 
With banners in the sky. 

DeBarras swept down from the Northern coast, 

DeGrasse, foam-driving, came with favoring breeze, 
And here surprised the proud, marauding host 
Like spectres of the seas. 

Then was no time for such a boastful strain 

As Campbell sang o'er Baltic's bloody tide, 
Nor did Britannia dominate the main 
In customary pride. 
103 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

France closed this river, and France ruled yon sea, 

Held all our waters in triumphant state, 
Her sails foretelling what was soon to be 
Like Ministers of Fate. 

And when the Union chants her proudest Lay 

DeGrasse is often on her tuneful lips, 
And his achievement challenges to-day 
Some Homer of the ships. 

So, when this spot its monument shall crown 

His name upon its base two Worlds shall see, 
With a fair wind his story shall sail down 
Through Ages yet to be, 

VII. 
The Ravages of War. 

This on the water : on the land a scene 

Whose Epic scope is far beyond my power, 
For on this spot a People's fate hath been 
Decided in an hour. 

Long was the conflict waged through weary years 

Counted from when the sturdy farmers fell : 
Hopes crucified, red trenches, bitter tears, 
Made Man another hell ! 

See pallid women girt in woe and weeds ! 
See little children gaunt for lack of food ! 
104 



Arms and The Man. 

Behold the catalogue of War's black deeds 
Where evil stands for good ! 

See slaughtered cattle, never more to roam, 

Rot in the fields, while chimneys tall and bare 
Tell in dumb pathos how some quiet home 
Lit up the midnight air ! 

See that burnt crop, yon choked-up sylvan well, 

This yeoman slain yecorven in the sun ! 
My God ! shreds of a woman's dress to tell 
Why murder there was done ! 

Such things as these gave edge to all the blows 

Our fathers struck on this historic sod, 
Feet, hands, and faces turned toward their foes — 
Their valiant hearts to God. 

VIII. 
The Lines Around Yorktown. 

Troops late by Williamsburg's brave palace walls, 

With trump and drum had marched down Glo'ster 
street, 
And some with throb of oars, and loud sea-calls 
Had landed from the fleet. 

And well our leader had befooled his foes — 

Left them like archers blundering in the dark 
To draw against the empty space their bows, 
While here was their true mark. 
105 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves, 

Brave Lincoln on the right with kindling eye 

Smiles 'mid the cares of grave command immersed, 
To see dramatic retribution nigh 

And Charleston's fate reversed ! 

The Light Troops stood upon the curved right flank. 

New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay were there, 
Connecticut marched with them, rank on rank, 
And gallant Delaware. 

There, too, Virginia's sturdy yeomen stood, 

Led on by Nelson of the open hand, 
As thick and stubborn as a living wood 
In some enchanted land. 

Next came the steady Continental Line, 

Rhode Island, and New Jersey, breast to breast, 
Ready to tread the hot and smoking wine 

From War's red clusters pressed. 

New York and Pennsylvania on these plains 

Closed boldly in on the embattled town, 
Nor feared they threatened penalties and pains 
Of Parliament, or Crown. 

And Maryland, the gay and gallant came, 
As always ready for the battle's brunt; 
And here again Virginia faced the flame 
Along the deadly front. 
106 



Arms and The Man. 

IX. 
The French in the Trenches. 

And as the allied hosts advance 
All the left wing is given to France, 

Is given to France and — Fame ! 
Yes, these together always ride 
The Dioscouroi of the tide 

Where War plays out the game ! 
And that broad front 'tis her's to hold 
With hand of iron, heart of gold 

And helmet plumed with flame. 
Across the river broad she sends 
DeChoisy and Lauzun where ends 

The leaguer far and wide, 
While Weedon seconds as he may 
The gallant Frenchmen in array 

Upon the Gloucester side. 

As waves hurled on a stranded keel 
Make all the oaken timbers reel 

With many a pond'rous blow, 
So day by day, and night by night 
The French like billows foaming white 

Thunder against the foe. 
107 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

X. 

Nelson and the Gunners. 

O'er town, and works, and waves amain 
Far fell grim Ruin's furious rain, 

O'er parapet and mast, 
And riding on the thunder-swell 
Far flew the shot, far flew the shell 

Red Havoc on the blast ! 
Then as the flashing cannon sowed 
Their iron crop brave Nelson rode, 

His bridle bit all foam, 
Up to the gunners, and said he : 
" Batter yon mansion down for me" — 

" Basement, and walls, and dome ! " 
And better to sharpen those gunners' wits, 
" Five guineas," he cried, " for each shot that hits ! "■ 

That mansion was his home ! 

XL 

The Beleaguered Town. 

Behind the town the sun sinks down 
Gilding the vane upon the spire, 

While many a wall reels to its fall 
Beneath the fell artillery fire. 

As sinks that sun mortar and gun 

Like living things leap grim and hot, 
108 



Arms and The Man. 

And far and wide across the tide 
Spray-furrows show the flying shot. 

White smoke in clouds yon earthwork shrouds 
Where, steeped in battle to the lips, 

The French amain pour fiery rain 

On town, and walls, and English ships. 

That deadly sleet smites lines and fleet, 

As closes in the Autumn night, 
And Aboville from head to heel 

Thrills with the battle's wild delight. 

At every flash oak timbers crash — 
A sudden glare yon frigate dyes ! 

Then flames up-gush, and roar, and rush, 
From deck to where her pennon flies ! 

Those flames on high crimson the sky 
And paint their signals overhead, 

And every fold of smoke is rolled 
And woven in Plutonian red. 

All radiant now taflrail and prow, 

And hull, and cordage, beams and spars, 

Thus lit she sails on fiery gales 

To purple seas where float the stars. 

Ages ago just such a glow 

Woke Agamemnon's house to joy, 

Its red and gold to Argos told 
The long-expected fate of Troy. 
109 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

So, on these heights, that flame delights 
The Allies thundering at the wall, 

Forewrit they see the land set free 
And Albion's short-lived Ilium fall ! 

Then as the Lilies turn to red 
Dipped in the battles' wine 
Another picture is outspread 
Where still the figures shine — 
The picture of a deadly fray 
Worthy the pencil of Vernet ! 

XII. 

Storming the Redoubts. 

On the night air there floating comes, hoarse, war-like, 

low and deep, 
A sound as tho' the dreaming drums were talking in their 

sleep. 

i; Fall in ! Fall in ! " The stormers form, in silence, stern 

and grim, 
Each heart full-beating out the time to Freedom's battle 

hymn. — 

** Charge ! en Avant / " — The word goes forth and forth 

the stormers go, 
Each column like a mighty shaft shot from a mighty 

bow. 



Arms and The Man. 

And tumult rose upon the night like sound of roaring- 
seas, 

Mars drank of the Horn of Ulphus and he drained it to 
the lees ! 

Now by fair Freedom's splendid dreams ! it was a gallant 
sight 

To see the blows against the foes well struck that Au- 
tumn night ! 

Gimat, and Fish, and Hamilton, and Laurens pressed the 

foe, 
And Olney — brave Rhode Islander ! — was there, alas ! 

laid low. 

Viominil, and Noallies, and Damas, stout and brave, 
Broke o'er the English right redoubt a steel-encrested 
wave. 

St. Simon from his sick couch rose, wooed by the battle's 

charms, 
And like a knight of old romance went to the shock of 

arms. 

[But they who bore the muskets, who went charging 

thro' the flame, 
Deserve far more than ever will be given them by 

Fame — 

Then let us pour libations out ! — full freely let them flow 
For the men who bore the muskets here a century ago!] 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

And, then, the columns won the works, and then uprose 

the cheers 
That have lasted us and ours for a good one hundred 

years ! 

And there were those amid the French filled with a 

rapture stern 
And long the cry resounded : " Live the Regiment of 

Auverne ! " 

Long live the Gallic Army and long live splendid France, 
The Power that gives to History the beauty of Romance ! 

Upon our right commanded one dearer by far than all, 
The hero who first came to us and came without a call ; 

Whose name with that of his leader all histories entwine, 
The one as is the mighty oak, the other as the vine ; 

The one the staff, the other the great banner on its lance — 
Now, need I name the dearest name of all the names of 
France ? 

Oh, Marquis brave ! Upon this shaft, deep-cut thy cher- 
ished name 

Twin Old Mortalities shall find — fond Gratitude and 
Fame! 

112 



Arms and The Man. 



THE TWO LEADERS. 



Two chieftains watch the battle's tide and listen as it 

rolls 
And only Heaven above can tell the tumult of their 

souls i 

Cornwallis saw the British power struck down by one 

fell blow, 
A Gallic spearhead on the lance that laid the Lion low. 

But the Father of his Country saw the future all unrolled, 
Independence blazed before him written down in text of 
gold, 

Like the Hebrew, on the mountain, looking forward then 
he saw 

The Promised Land of Freedom blooming under Free- 
dom's law ; 

Saw a great Republic spurring in the lists where Nations 

ride, 
The peer of any Power in her majesty and pride ; 

Saw that young Republic gazing through her helmet's 

gilded bars 
Toward the West all luminous with th' light of coming 

stars ; 

From Atlantic to Pacific saw her banners all unfurled 
Heard sonorous trumpets blowing blessed Peace with 

all the world? 
8 113 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Roused from this glorious vision, with success within his 

reach, 
In few and simple words he made this long-resounding 

speech : 

" The work is done, and well done :" thus spake he on 

this sod, 
In accents calm and measured as the accents of a God. 

God, said I? Yes, his image rises on the raptured sight 
Like Baldur, the fair and blameless, the Goth's God of 
the Light! 

XIII. 

The Beginning of the End. 

As some spent gladiator, struck by Death, 

Whose reeling vision scarce a foe deiines, 
For one last effort gathers all his breath, 
England draws in her lines. 

Her blood-red flag floats out full fair, but flows 

O'er crumbling bastions, in fictitious state : 
Who stands a siege Cornwallis full well knows, 
Plays at a game with Fate. 

Siege means surrender at the bitter end, 

From Ilium downward such the sword-made rule, 
With few exceptions, few indeed amend 
This law in any school ! 
114 



Arms and The Man. 

The student who for these has ever sought 
'Mid his exceptions Csesar counts as one, 
Besieger and besieged he, victor, fought 
Under a Gallic sun. 

For Vircinget'rex failed, but at the wall : 

He strove and failed gilded by Glory's ravs 
So that true soldiership describes that Gaul 
In terms of honest praise. 

But there was not a Julius in the lines 

Round which our Chief the fatal leaguer drew, 
The noble Earl, though valiant, never shines 
'Mid War's majestic few. 

By hopes and fears in agonies long tossed — 

[Clinton hard fixed in method's rigid groove] 
The British Leader saw the game was lost ; 
But, still, it had one move ! 

Could he attain yon spreading Gloucester shore ; 

Could he and his cross York's majestic tide ; 
He, then, might laugh to hear the cannon roar 
And far for safety ride. 

Bold was the plan ! and generous Light Horse Lee 

Gives it full measure of unstinted praise ; 

But Providence declared this should not be 

In its own wondrous ways. 

Loud roared the storm ! The rattling thunders rang ! 
Against the blast his rowers could not row ! 

"5 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

White waves like hoary-headed Homers sang 
Hexameters of woe. 

Then came the time to end the mighty Play, 

To drop the curtain and to quench the lamps, 
And soon the story took its jocund way 
Through all the Allied camps. 

" Measure for measure" then was righteous law, 

The cup of Lincoln, bowed Cornwallis pressed, 
And as he drank the wondering Nations saw 
A sunrise — in the West ! 

Death fell upon the Royal cause that day, 

The King stood like Swift's oak with blighted crest, 
Headpiece and Crown both cleft he drooped away : 
Hie jacet — tells the rest ! 

And patriots stood where traitors late were jeered, 

Transformed from rebels into freemen bold, 
What seemed Membrino's helmet now appeared 
A real casque of gold ! 

XIV. 

The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis. 

Next came the closing scene : but shall I paint 
The scarlet column, sullen, slow, and faint, 
Which marched, with " colors cased " to yonder field, 
Where Britain threw down corslet, sword and shield? 

116 



Arms and The Man. 

Shall I depict the anguish of the brave 

Who envied comrades sleeping in the grave? 

Shall I exult o'er inoffensive dust 

Of valiant men whose swords have turned to rust? 

Shall I, like Menelaus by the coast, 

O'er dead Ajaces make unmanly boast? 

Shall I, in chains of an ignoble Verse, 

Degrade dead Hectors, and their pangs rehearse — 

Nay ! such is not the mood this People feels, 

Their chariots drag no foemen by the heels ! 

Let Ajax slumber by the sounding sea 

From the fell passion of his madness free ! 

Let Hector's ashes unmolested sleep — 

But not to-day shall any Priam weep ! 

OUR ANCIENT ALLIES. 

Superb in white and red, and white and gold, 
And white and violet, the French unfold 
Their blazoned banners on the Autumn air, 
While cymbols clash and brazen trumpets blare : 
Steeds fret and foam, and spurs with scabbards clank 
As far they form, in many a shining rank. 
Deux-Ponts is there, as hilt to sword blade true, 
And Guvion rises smiling on the view ; 
And the brave Swede, as yet untouched by Fate, 
Rides 'mid his comrades with a mien elate ; 
And Duportail — and scores of others glance 
Upon the scene, and all are worthy France ! 
And for those Frenchmen and their splendid bands, 

117 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

The very Centuries shall clap their hands, 
While at their head, as all their banners flow, 
And all their drums roll out, and trumpets blow, 
Rides first and foremost splendid Rochambeau ! 
And well he rides, worthy an epic rhyme — 
Full well he rides in attitude sublime — 
Fair Freedom's Champion in the lists of Time. 

THE CONTINENTALS. 

In hunting shirts, or faded blue and buff, 
And many clad in simple, rustic stuff, 
Their ensigns torn but held by Freedom's hand, 
In long-drawn lines the Continentals stand. 
To them precision, if not martial grace ; 
Each heart triumphant but composed each face ; 
Well taught in military arts by brave Steuben, 
With port of soldiers, majesty of men, 
All fathers of their Country like a wall 
They stand at rest to see the curtain fall. 
Well-taught were they by one who learned War's trade 
From Frederick, whom not Ruin's self dismayed ; — 
Well-taught by one who never lost the heat 
Caught on an anvil where all Europe beat ; — 
Beat in a storm of blows, with might and main, 
But on that Prussian anvil beat in vain ! 
And to the gallant race of Steuben's name 
That long has held close intercourse with Fame, 
This great Republic bows its lofty crest, 
And folds his kinsmen to her ample breast : 

118 



Arms and The Man. 

At fray, or festival, on march or halt, 
Von Steuben always far above the salt ! 



The Brave young Marquis, second but to one 
For whom he felt the reverence of a son, 
Rides at the head of his division proud — 
A ray of Glory painted on the cloud ! 
Mad Anthony is there, and Knox — but why 
Great names like battle flags attempt to fly? 
Who sings of skies lit up by Jove and Mars 
Thinks not to chant a catalogue of stars ! 
I bow me low, and bowing low I pass 
Unnumbered heroes in unnumbered mass, 
While at their head in grave, and sober state, 
Rides one whom Time has found completely great 
Master of Fortune and the match of Fate ! 

***** 
Then Tilghman mounted on these Plains of York 
Swift sped away as speeds the homing hawk, 
And soon 'twas his to wake that watchman's cry 
That woke all Nations and shall never die ! 

THE ANCIENT ENEMIES. 

Brave was the foeman ! well he held his ground ! 
But here defeat at kindred hands he found ! 
The shafts rained on him, in a righteous cause, 
Came from the quiver of Old England's laws ! 
119 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

He fought in vain ; and on this spot went down 

The jus divinum, and the kingly crown. 

But for those scenes Time long has made amends, 

The ancient enemies are present friends ; 

Two swords, in Massachusetts, rich in dust, 

And, better still, the peacefulness of rust, 

Told the whole story in its double parts 

To one who lives in two great nations' hearts ; 

And late above Old England's roar and din 

Slow-tolling bells spoke sympathy of kin : 

Victoria's wreath blooms on the sleeping breast 

Of him just gone to his reward and rest, 

And firm and fast between two mighty Powers 

New treaties live in those undying flowers. 

THE SPLENDID THREE. 

Turned back my gaze, on Spain's romantic shore 
I see Gaul bending by the grave of Moore, 
And later, when the page of Fame I scan 
I see brave France at deadly Inkerman, 
While on red Balaklava's field I hear 
Gallia's applause swell Albion's ringing cheer. 
England and France, as Allies, side by side 
Fought on the Pieho's melancholy tide, 
And there, brave Tattnall, ere the fight was done, 
Stirred English hearts as far as shone the sun, 
Or tides and billows in their courses run. 
That day, 'mid the dark Pieho's slaughter 
120 



Arms and The Man. 

He said : " Blood is thicker than water!" 

And your true man though "brayed in a mortar" 

At feast, or at fray 

Will still feel it and say 
As he said : "Blood is thicker than water!" 

And full homely is the saying but this story always 
starts 

An answer from ten thousand times ten thousand kin- 
dred hearts. 

Then let us pray that as the sun shines ever on the sea 
Fair Peace forevermore may smile upon the Splendid 
Three ! 

May happy France see purple grapes a-glow on all her 

hills, 
And England breast-deep in her corn laugh back the 

laugh of rills ! 

May this fair land to which all roads lead as the roads of 

Rome 
Led to th' eternal city's gates still offer Man a home — 

A home of peace and plenty, and of freedom and of 

ease, 
With all before him where to choose between the shining 

seas ! 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

May the war-cries of the Captains yield to happy reapers 

shouts, 
And the clover whiten bastions and the olive shade 

redoubts ! 

XV. 

The War Horse Draws the Plough. 

At last our Fathers saw the Treaty sealed, 

Victory unhelmed her broad, majestic brow, 
The Sword became a Sickle in the held, 
The war horse drew the plough. 

There is a time when men shape for their Land 

Its institutions 'mid some tempests' roar, 
Just as the waves that thunder on the strand 
Shape out and round the shore. 

Then comes a day when institutions turn 

And carve the men, or cast them into moulds ; 
One Era trembles while volcanoes burn, 
Another Age beholds 

The hardened lava changed to hills and leas, 

With blooming glebes and orchards intermixed, 
Vineyards which look abroad o'er purple seas, 
And deep foundations fixed. 

So, when fell Chaos like a baleful Fate 

What we had won seemed bent to snatch away 
Sound thinkers rose who fashioned out the State 
As potters fashion clay. 
122 



Arms and The Man. 

XVI. 
Heroes and Statesmen. 

Of their great names I may record but few ; 

He who beholds the Ocean white with sails 
And copies each confuses all the view, 
He paints too much — and fails. 

His picture shows no high, emphatic light, 

Its shadows in full mass refuse to fall, 
And as its broken details meet the light 
Men turn it to the wall. 

Of those great names but few may pass my lips, 

For he who speaks of Salamis then sees 
Not men who there commanded Grecian ships — 
But grand Themistocles ! 

Yet some I mark, and these discreetly take 

To grace my verse through duty and design, 
As one notes barks that leave the broadest wake 
Upon the stormy Brine. 

These rise before me ; and there Mason stands 

The Constitution-maker firm and bold, 
Like Bernal Diaz, planting with kind hands 
Fair trees to blaze in gold. 

Amid the lofty group sedate, I see 

Great Franklin muse where Truth had locked her stores, 

123 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Holding within his steady hand the key 
That opened many doors. 

And Trumbull, strong as hammered steel of old, 

Stands boldly out in clear and high relief, — 
A blade unbending worth a hilt of gold, — 
He never failed his Chief. 

Then Robert Morris glides into my Verse 

Turning the very stones at need to bread — 
Filling the young Republic's slender purse 
When Credit's self seemed dead. 

Tylers I see — sprung from the sturdy Wat — 

A strong-armed rebel of an ancient date, 
With Falkland-Carys come, to draw the lot 
Cast in the helm of Fate. 

And Marshall in his ermine white as snow, 

Wise, learned and profound Fame loves to draw, 
His noble function on the Bench to show 
That Reason is the Law. 

His sword unbuckled and his brows unbent, 

The gallant Hamilton again appears, 
And in fair Freedom's mighty Parliament 
He marches with the Peers ! 

Henry is there beneath his civic crown ; 

He speaks in words that thunder as they flow, 
124 



Arms and The Man. 

And as he speaks his thunder-tones bring down 
An avalanche below ! 

Nor does John Adams in the picture lag, 

He was as bold, as resolute, and free, 
As is the eagle on a misty crag 
Above a stormy sea. 

And 'mid his fellows in those days of need, 

Impassioned Jefferson burns like a sun, 
The New World's Prophet of the New World's Creed- 
Prophet and Priest in one ! 

These two together stood in our great past, 

When Independence flamed across the land ; 
On Independence Day these two at last 
Departed hand in hand. 

And they are taken by a patriot's mind 

As kindred types of our great Saxon stock, 
And that same thinker hopes some day to find 
Both statues in one block.* 

But, here I number splendid names too fast, 

Heroes and Sages throng behind this group, 
And thick they come as came in Homer's past 
A Goddess and her troop ; 

And as that troop, 'mid frays and fell alarms, 
Swept, all a-glitter, on their mission bent, 

* This fine idea is borrowed from one of the addresses of Mr. Winthrop, 
the orator of the occasion. 

125 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

And bore from Vulcan the resplendent arms 
To great Achilles sent, 

So came the names that light my pious Song — 
Came bearing Union forged in high debates — 
A sun-illuminated Shield, and strong, 
To guard these mighty States. 

The Shield sent to the son of Peleus glowed 

With hammered wonders, all without a flaw ; 
The Shield of Union in its splendor showed 
The Compromise of Law. 

And as the Epic lifts a form sublime 

For all the Ages on its plinth of gold, 
So does our Story, challenging all time, 
Its crowning shape uphold! 

XVII. 

Pater Path; k. 

Achilles came from Homer's Jove-like brain, 

Pavilioned 'mid his ships where Thetis trod ; 
But he whose image dominates this plain 
Came from the hand of God ! 

Yet, of his life, which shall all time adorn 

I dare not sing ; to try the theme would be 
To drink as 'twere that Scandinavian Horn 
Whose tip was in the Sea. 

136 



Arms and The Man. 

I bow my head and go upon my ways, 

Who tells that story can but gild the gold — 
Could I pile Alps on Apennines of praise 
The tale would not be told. 

Not his the blade which lyric fables say 

Cleft Pyrenees from ridge to nether bed, 
But his the sword which cleared the Sacred Way 
For Freedom's feet to tread. 

Not Caesar's genius nor Napoleon's skill 

Gave him proud mast'ry o'er the trembling earth ; 
But great in honesty, and sense and will — 
He was the " man of worth." 

He knew not North, nor South, nor West, nor East : 

Childless himself, Father of States he stood, 

Strong and sagacious as a Knight turned Priest, 

And vowed to deeds of good. 

Compared with all Earth's heroes I may say 

He was, with even half his virtues hid, 
Greater in what his hand refrained than they 
Were great in what they did. 

And thus his image dominates all time, 

Uplifted like the everlasting dome 
Which rises in a miracle sublime 
Above eternal Rome. 

On Rome's once blooming plain where'er we stray 
That dome majestic rises on the view, 
127 



A Wreath of Virg'mia Bay Leaves. 

Its Cross a-glow with every wandering ray 
That shines along the Blue. 

So his vast image shadows all the lands, 

So holds forever Man's adoring eye, 
And o'er the Union which he left it stands 
Our Cross against the sky ! 

XVIII. 

The Flag of the Republic. 

My harp soon ceases ; but I here allege 

Its strings are in my heart and tremble there : 
My Song's last strain shall be a claim and pledge — 
A claim, a pledge, a prayer ! 

I stand, as stood, in storied days of old, 
Vasco Balboa staring o'er bright seas 
When fair Pacific's tide of limpid gold 
Surged up against his knees. 

For haughty Spain, her banner in his hand, 

He claimed a New World, sea, and plain, and crag- 
I claim the Future's Ocean for this land 
And here I plant her flag ! 

Float out, oh flag, from Freedom's burnished lance ! 
Float out, oh flag, in Red, and White, and Blue ! 
The Union's colors and the hues of France 
Commingled on the view ! 
128 



Arms and The Man. 

Float out, oh flag, and all thy splendors wake ! 

Float out, oh flag, above our Hero's bed ! 
Float out, oh flag, and let thy blazon take 
New glories from the dead ! 

Flot out, oh flag, o'er Freedom's noblest types ! 

Float out, oh flag, all free of blot or stain ! 
Float out, oh flag, the " Roses " in thy stripes 
Forever blent again ! 

Float out, oh flag, and float in every clime ! 

Float out, oh flag, and blaze on every sea ! 
Float out, oh flag, and float as long as Time 
And Space themselves shall be ! 

Float out, oh flag, o'er Freedom's onward march ! 

Float out, oh flag, in Freedom's starry sheen ! 
Float out, oh flag, above the Union's arch 
Where Washington is seen ! 

Float out, oh flag, above a smiling Land ! 

Float out, oh flag, above a peaceful sod ! 
Float out, oh flag, thy staff within the hand 
Beneficent of God ! 

XIX. 

The South in the Union. 

An ancient Chronicle has told 
That, in the famous days of old, 
9 I2 9 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

In Antioch under ground 
The self-same lance was found — 
Unbitten by corrosive rust — 
The lance the Roman soldier thrust 

In Christ's bare side upon the Tree ; 

And that it brought 

A mighty spell 

To those who fought 

The Infidel 

And mighty victory. 

And so this day 

To you I say — 
Speaking for millions of true Southern men — 

In words that have no undertow — 

I say, and say agen : 

Come weal, or woe, 

Should this Republic ever fight, 

By land, or sea, 
For present law, or ancient right 

The South will be 

As was that lance, 

Albeit not found 

Hid under ground 
But in the forefront of the first advance ! 

'Twill fly a pennon fair 
As ever kissed the air, 
On it, for every glance, 
Shall blaze majestic France 
130 



Arms and The Man, 

Blent with our Hero's name 

In everlasting flame, 

And written, fair in gold, 

This legend on its fold : 

Give us back the ties of Yorktown ! 

Perish all the modern hates ! 
Let us stand together, brothers, 

In defiance of the Fates ; 
For the safety of the Union 

is the safety of the states ! 

131 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 



TO ALEXANDER GALT, THE SCULPTOR. 

Alas ! he's cold ! 
^OLD as the marble which his fingers wrought — 
^-^ Cold, but not dead ; for each embodied thought 
Of his, which he from the Ideal brought 

To live in stone, 
Assures him immortality of fame. 

Gait is not dead ! 

Only too soon 

We saw him climb 
Up to his pedestal, where equal Time 
And coming generations, in the noon 
Of his full reputation, yet shall stand 
To pay just homage to his noble name. 

Our Poet of the Quarries only sleeps, 

He cleft his pathway up the future's steeps, 

And now rests from his labors. 

Hence 'tis I say ; 
For him there is no death, 
Only the stopping of the pulse and breath — 
But simple breath is not the all in all ; 
Man hath it but in common with the brutes — 
Life is in action and in brave pursuits ! 
132 



To Alexander Gait, the Sculptor. 

By what we dream, and having dreamt, dare do, 
We hold our places in the world's large view, 
And still have part in the affairs of men 
When the long sleep is on us. 

He dreamt and made his dreams perpetual things 
Fit for the rugged cell of penitential saints, 
Or sumptuous halls of Kings, 
And showed himself a Poet in the Art 
He chiselled Lyrics with a touch so fine, 
With such a tender beauty of their own, 
That rarest songs broke out from every line 
And verse was audible in voiceless stone ! 
His Psyche, soft in beauty and in grace, 
Waits for her lover in the Western breeze, 
And a swift smile irradiates her face, 
As though she heard him whisper in the trees. 

His passion-stricken Sappho seems alive— 
Before her none can ever feel alone, 
For on her face emotions so do strive 
That we forget she is but pallid stone ; 
And all her tragedy of love and woe 
Is told us in the chilly marble's snow. 

Bacchante, with her vine-crowned hair, 
Leaps to the cymbal-measured dance 
With such a passion in her air — 
Upon her brow — upon her lips — 
As thrills you to the finger-tips, 
And fascinates your glance. 
i33 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

These are, as 'twere, three of his Songs in stone — 
The first full of the tenderness of love, 
Speaking of moon-rise, and the low wind's call : 
The second of love's tragedy and fall ; 
The third of shrill, mad laughter, and the tone 
Of festal music, on whose rise and fall 
Swift-footed dancers follow. 

Nobler than these sweet lyric dreams, 
Dreamt out beside Italia's streams, 
He'd worked some Epic studies out, in part — 
To leave them incomplete his chiefest pain 
When the low pulses of his failing heart 
Admonished him of death. 

Ay ! he had soared upon a lofty wing, 
Wet with the purple and encrimsoned rain 
Of dreams, whose clouds had floated o'er his brain 
Until it ached with glories. 

If you would see his Epic studies, go — 
Go with the student from his dim arcade — 
Halt where the Statesman standeth in the hall, 
And mark how careless voices hush and fall, 
And all light talk to sudden pause is brought 
In presence of the noble type of thought — 
Embodied Independence which he wrought 
From stone of far Carrara. 

View his Columbus : Hero grand and meek, 
Scarred 'mid the battle's long-protracted brunt — 

i34 



To Alexander Gait, the Sculptor. 

Palos and Salvador stamped on his front, 
With not a line about it, poor or weak — 
A second Atlas, bearing on his brow 
A New World, just discovered. 

Go see Virginia's wise, majestic face 
With some faint shadow of her coming woe 
Writ on the broad, expansive, virgin snow 
Of her imperial forehead, just as though 
Some disembodied Prophet-hand of eld 
The Sculptor's chisel in its touch had held, 
Foreshadowing her coming crown of thorns — 
Her crown and her great glory ! 
These of the many ; but they are enough — 
Enough to show that I have rightly said 
The marble's snow b>ids back from him decay, 
He sleepeth long ; but sleeps not with the dead 
Who die, and are forgotten ere the clay 
Heaped over them hath hardened in the sun. 

This much of Gait, the Artist : 

Of the man 
Fain would I speak, but in sad sooth I can 
Ne'er find the words wherein to tell 
How he was loved, or yet how well 

He did deserve it. 
All things of beauty were to him delight — 
The sunset's clouds — the turret rent apart — 
The stars which glitter in the noon of night — 

135 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

Spoke in one voice unto his mind and heart, 
His love of Nature made his love of Art, 

And had his span 

Of life been longer 
He had surely done 
Such noble things that he 
Like to a soaring eagle would have been 
At last — lost in the sun ! 

136 



To the Poet-Priest Ryan. 



TO THE POET-PRIEST RYAN. 

IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF A COPY OF HIS POEMS. 

Himself I read beneath the words he writes, * * * 
I may come back and sing again. — Ryan. 

I. 

THIS Bard's to me a whole-souled man 
In honesty and might, 
For when he sees Wrong in the van 

He leaps like any Knight 
To horse, and charging on the wrong 
Smites it with the great sword of Song. 

II. 

Beneath the cassock of the Priest 

There throbs another heart — 
Another — but 'tis not the least — 

Which in his Lays takes part, 
So that 'mid clash of Swords and Spears 
There is no lack of Pity's tears. 

III. 

This other heart is brave and soft, 
As such hearts always are, 
i37 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

And plumes itself, a bird aloft, 

When Morning's gates unbar — 
Till high it soars above the sod 
Bathed in the very light of God. 

IV. 

Woman and Soldier, Priest and Man, 

I find within these Lays, 
And the closer still th' Verse I scan 

The more I see to praise : 
Some of these Lyrics shower down 
The glories of the Cross and Crown. 

V. 

To thee, oh Bard ! my head I bow, 

As I'd not to a King, 
And my last word, writ here and now, 

Is not a little thing ; 
Recall the promise of thy strain — 
Thou art to " come and sing again ! " 



Three Names. 



THREE NAMES. 

VIRGINIA in her proud, Colonial days 
Boasts three great names which full of glory shine ; 
Two glitter like the burnished heads of spears, 

The third in tender light is half divine. 
Turning that page my eager fancy hears 
Trumpets and drums, and fleet on fleet appears. 

Those names are graven deep and broad, to last 
And outlast Ages : while recording Time 
Hands down their story, worth an Epic Rhyme 

To light her future by her splendid past : 

One planned the Saxon's Empire o'er these lands, — 
The other planted it with valiant hands — 

The third, with Mercy's soft, celestial beams, 

Lights fair romances, histories and dreams. 



Sir Walter Raleigh. 

Whether in velvet white, slashed, and be-pearled, 
And rich in knots of clustering gems a-glow : 
Or, in his rusted armor, he unfurled 
St. George's Cross by Oronoko's flow ; 

i39 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves, 

He was a man to note right well as one 
Who shot his arrows straightway at the sun. 

Dark was his hair, his beard all crisp and curled, 
And narrow-lidded were his piercing eyes, 
Anhungered in their glances for a world 
That he might win by daring enterprise, — 
Explorer, soldier, scholar, poet, he 
Not only wrote but acted historie ! — 
And that great Captain, of our Saxon stock, 
Took his last slumber on the ghastly block ! 



Captain John Smith. 

A yeoman born, with patrimony small, 
He held the world at large as his estate ; 
Found fit advices in the bugle's call 
And took his part in iron-tongued debate 
Where'er one sword another sword-blade notched ; 
Ne'er was he slain, though often he was scotched, 
Now down, now up, but always fronting fate. 

At last a figure resolute, and grand 
In arms he leaped upon Virginia's strand ; 
Fitted in many schools his course to steer 
He knew the ax, the musketoon, and brand, 
How to obey, and better to command ; 
First of his line he stood — a planted spear 
The New World saw the English Pioneer ! 

140 



Three Names. 



Pocahontas. 



Her story, sure, was fashioned out above, 

Ere 't was enacted on the scene below ! 

For 't was a very miracle of love 

When from the savage hawk's nest came the dove 

With wings of peace to stay the ordered blow — 

The hawk's plumes bloody, but the dove's as snow ! 

And here my heart oppressed by pleasant tears 
Yields to a young girl's half angelic spell — 
Yes, for that maiden like a Saint appears ; 
She needs no fresco, stone, nor shrine to tell 
Her story to the people of this Land — 
Saint of the Wilderness, enthroned amid 
The wooded Minster where the Pagan hid ! 

141 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 



SUNSET ON HAMPTON ROADS. 

D EHIND me purplish lines marked out the town, 
* — ' Before me stretched the noble Roadstead's tide : 
And there I saw the Evening sun go down 
Casting a parting glory far and wide — 
As King who for the cowl puts off his crown — 
So went the sun : and left a wealth of light 
Ere hidden by the cloister-gates of Night. 

Beholding this my soul was stilled in prayer, 

I understood how all men, save the blind, 

Might find religion in a scene so fair 

And formulate a creed within the mind; — 

See prophesies in clouds ; fates in the air ; 

The skies flamed red ; the murm'ring waves were hushed- 

'•The conscious water saw its God and blushed." 



A King's Gratitude, 



A KING'S GRATITUDE. 

PLAIN men have fitful moods and so have Kings, 
For Kings are only men, and often made 
Of clay as common as e'er stained a spade. 
But when the great are moody, then, the strings 
Of gilded harps are smitten, and their strains 
Are soft and soothing as the Summer rains. 

And Saul was taken by an evil mood, 

He felt within himself his spirit faint : 
In vain he tossed upon his couch and wooed 

Refreshing slumbers. Sleep knows no constraint ! 
Then David came : his physic and advice 

All in a harp, and cleared the mind of Saul — 
And Saul thereafter launched his javelin twice 

To nail the harper to the palace wall ! 
M3 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 



"THE TWINSES."* 

TWO little children toddled up to me, 
Their faces fair as faces well could be, 
Roses and snow, but pale the roses were 
Like flowers fainting for the lack of air. 

Sad was the tender study which I gave 

The winning creatures, both so sweet and grave, 
Two beautiful young Saxons, scarce knee high ! 

As like as peas ! Two Lilliputian men ! 

Immortal ere they knew it by the pen 
Which waketh laughter or bedews the eye. 

God bless you, little people ! May His hand 
Hold you within its hollow all your days ! 
Smooth all the rugged places, and your ways 

Make long and pleasant in a fruitful land ! 

♦Children of his friend, Dr. George W. Bagby. 

1 44 



Dreai?iers. 



DREAMERS. 

FOOLS laugh at dreamers, and the dreamers smile 
In answer, if they any answer make : 
They know that Saxon Alfred could not bake 
The oaten cakes, but that he snatched his Isle 
Back from the fierce and bloody-handed Dane. 

And so, they leave the plodders to their gains — 
Quit money changing for the student's lamp, 
And tune the harp to gain thereby some camp, 
Where what they learn is worth a kingdom's crown ; 
They fashion bows and arrows to bring down 
The mighty truths which sail the upper air ; 
To them the facts which make the fools despair 
Become familiar, and a thousand things 
Tell them the secrets they refuse to kings. 

10 HS 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 



UNDER ONE BLANKET. 

THE sun went down in flame and smoke, 
The cold night passed without alarms, 
And when the bitter morning broke 
Our men stood to their arms. 

But not a foe in front was found 
After the long and stubborn fight. 

The enemy had left the ground 
Where we had lain that night. 

In hollows where the sun was lost 
Unthawed still lay the shining snow. 

And on the rugged ground the frost 
In slender spears did grow. 

Close to us, where our final rush 
Was made at closing in of day. 

We saw, amid an awful hush, 
The rigid shapes of clay : 

Things, which but yesterday had life, 
And answered to the trumpet's call, 

Remained as victims of the strife, 
Clods of the Valley all ! 
146 



Under One Blanket. 

Then, the grim detail marched away 
A grave from the hard soil to wrench 

Wherein should sleep the Blue and Grey 
All in a ghastly trench ! 

A thicket of young pines arose, 
Midway upon that frosty ground ; 

A shelter from the winds and snows, 
And by its edge I found 

Two stiffened forms, where they had died, 
As sculptured marble white and cold, 

Lying together side by side 
Beneath one blanket's fold. 

My heart already touched and sad 
The blanket down I gently drew 

And saw a sturdy form, well clad 
From head to heel in Blue. 

Beside him, gaunt from many a fast, 
A pale and boyish " rebel " lay, 

Free of all pangs of life, at last, 
In tattered suit of Grey. 

There side by side those soldiers slept 
Each for the cause that he thought good, 

And bowing down my head I wept 
Through human brotherhood. 

Oh, sirs ! it was a piteous thing 
To see how they had vainly tried 
147 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves, 

With strips of shirts, and bits of string, 
To stay life's ebbing tide ! 

The story told itself aright ; 

(Print scarce were plainer to the eye) 
How they together in the night 

Had laid them down to die. 

The story told itself, I say, 

How smitten by their wounds and cold 
They'd nestled close, the Blue and Grey, 

Beneath one blanket's fold. 

All their poor surgery could do 

They did to stop their wounds so deep, 

Until at last the Grey and Blue 
Like comrades fell asleep. 

We dug for them a generous grave, 
Under that sombre thicket's lee, 

And there we laid the sleeping brave 
To wait God's reveille. 

That grave by many a tear was graced 
From ragged heroes ranged around 

As in one blanket they were placed 
In consecrated ground. 

Aye ! consecrated, without flaw, 
Because upon that bloody sod, 

My soul uplifted stood and saw 
Where Christ had lately trod ! 
148 









_ ^- 








~^B ™ 








* * $ 


iKC 








»A< 


!■?. 






mm 


TO 


1 






#^, B 


. I . 


.9 v 






^5 fl 


'. 








s^*? -^ 


^M 






|i 4 -<-9& - 


■ — — ~Wb 






'J 4 


5 








L 1 





Statue op General ti. E. Lee (by Mercier), 
in Richmond, Virginia. 



The Lee Memorial Ode. 



THE LEE MEMORIAL ODE. 

GREAT Mother of great Commonwealths" 
Men call our Mother State : 
And she so well has earned this name 
That she may challenge Fate 
To snatch away the epithet 
Long given her of "great." 

First of all Old England's outposts 
To stand fast upon these shores 
Soon she brought a mighty harvest 
To a Peopled threshing floors, 
And more than golden grain was piled 
Within her ample doors. 

Behind her stormy sunrise shone, 

Her shadow fell vast and long, 

And her mighty Adm'ral, English Smith, 

Heads a prodigous throng 

Of as mighty men, from Raleigh down, 

As ever arose in song. 

Her names are the shining arrows 
Which her ancient quiver bears, 
And their splendid sheaf has thickened 
Through the long march of the years, 
149 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

While her great shield has been burnished 
By her children's blood and tears. 

Yes, it is true, my Countrymen, 

We are rich in names and blood, 

And red have been the blossoms 

From the first Colonial bud, 

While her names have blazed as meteors 

By many a field and flood. 

And as some flood tumultuous 
In sounding billows rolled 
Gives back the evening's glories 
In a wealth of blazing gold : 
So does the present from its waves 
Reflect the lights of old. 

Our history is a shining sea 

Locked in by lofty land 

And its great Pillars of Hercules, 

Above the shining sand, 

I here behold in majesty 

Uprising on each hand. 

These Pillars of our history, 
In fame forever young, 
Are known in every latitude 
And named in every tongue, 
And down through all the Ages 
Their story shall be sung. 

IS© 



The Lee Memorial Ode. 

The Father of his Country 
Stands above that shut-in sea 
A glorious symbol to the world 
Of all that's great and free ; 
And to-day Virginia matches him — 
And matches him with Lee. 



II. 



Who shall blame the social order 
Which gave us men as great as these? 
Who condemn the soil of t' forest 
Which bring forth gigantic trees ? 
Who presume to doubt that Providence 
Shapes out our destinies? 

Fore-ordained, and long maturing, 
Came the famous men of old : 
In the dark mines deep were driven 
Down the shafts to reach the gold, 
And the story is far longer 
Than the histories have told. 

From Bacon down to Washington 
The generations passed, 
Great events and moving causes 
Were in serried order massed : 
Berkeley well was first confronted, 
Better George the King at last ! 
151 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

From the time of that stern ruler 
To our own familiar days 
Long the pathway we have trodden, 
Hard, and devious were its ways 
Till at last there came the second 
Mightier Revolution's blaze : 

Till at last there broke the tempest 
Like a cyclone on the sea, 
When the lightnings blazed and dazzled 
And the thunders were set free — 
And riding on that whirlwind came 
Majestic, Robert Lee ! 

Who— again I ask the question — 
Who may challenge in debate, 
With any show of truthfulness, 
Our former social state 
Which brought forth more than heroes 
In their lives supremely great? 

Not Peter, the wild Crusader, 

When bent upon his knee, 

Not Arthur and his belted knights, 

In the Poet's Song, could be 

More earnest than those Southern men 

Who followed Robert Lee. 

They thought that they were right and this 
Was hammered into those 

152 



The Lee Memorial Ode. 

Who held that crest all drenched in blood 
Where the " Bloody Angle " rose. 
As for all else ? It passes by 
As the idle wind that blows, 

III. 

Then stand up, oh my Countrymen ! 
And unto God give thanks, 
On mountains, and on hillsides 
And by sloping river banks — 
Thank God that you were worthy 
Of the grand Confederate ranks : 

That you who came from uplands 
And from besiHe the sea, 
Filled with love of Old Virginia 
And the teachings of the free, 
May boast in sight of all men 
That you followed Robert Lee. 

Peace has come. God give his blessing 
On the fact and on the name ! 
The South speaks no invective 
And she writes no word of blame ; 
But we call all men to witness 
That we stand up without shame. 

Nay ! Send it forth to all the world 
That we stand up here with pride, 
iS3 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

With love for our living comrades 
And with praise for those who died : 
And in this manly frame of mind 
Till death we will abide. 

God and our consciences alone 
Give us measure of right and wrong ; 
The race may fall unto the swift 
And the battle to the strong : 
But the truth will shine in history 
And blossom into song. 

Human grief full oft by glory 

Is assuaged and disappears 

When its requiem swells with music 

Like the shock of shields and spears, 

And its passion is too full of pride 

To leave a space for tears. 

And hence to-day, my Countrymen, 
We come, with undimmed eyes, 
In homage of the hero Lee, 
The good, the great, the wise ! 
And at his name our hearts will leap 
Till his last old soldier dies. 

Ask me, if so you please, to paint 
Storm winds upon the sea ; 
Tell me to weigh great Cheops — 
Set volcanic forces free ; 
i54 



The Lee Memorial Ode. 

But bid me not, my Countrymen, 
To picture Robert Lee ! 

As Saul, bound for Damascus fair, 
Was struck blind by sudden light 
So my eyes are pained and dazzled 
By a radiance pure and white 
Shot back by the burnished armor 
Of that glory-belted Knight. 

His was all the Norman's polish 
And sobriety of grace ; 
All the Goth's majestic figure ; 
All the Roman's noble face ; 
And he stood trie tall exemplar 
Of a grand historic race. 

Baronial were his acres where 
Potomac's waters run ; 
High his lineage, and his blazon 
Was by cunning heralds done; 
But better still he might have said 
Of his "works" he was the " son." 

Truth walked beside him always, 
From his childhood's early years, 
Honor followed as his shadow, 
Valor lightened all his cares : 
And he rode — that grand Virginian- 
Last of all the Cavaliers ! 
*55 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 

As a soldier we all knew him 

Great in action and repose, 

Saw how his genius kindled 

And his mighty spirit rose 

When the four quarters of the globe 

Encompassed him with foes. 

But he and his grew braver 
As the danger grew more rife, 
Avaricious they of glory 
But most prodigal of life. 
And the "Army of Virginia " 
Was the Atlas of the strife. 

As his troubles gathered round him, 
Thick as waves that beat the shore, 
Atra Cura rode behind him, 
Famine's shadow filled his door ; 
Still he wrought deeds no mortal man 
Had ever wrought before. 



IV. 

Then came the end, my Countrymen, 
The last thunderbolts were hurled ! 
Worn out by his own victories 
His battle flags were furled 
And a history was finished 
That has changed the modern world. 
156 



The Lee Memorial Ode. 

As some saint in the arena 
Of a bloody Roman game, 
As the prize of his endeavor, 
Put on an immortal frame, 
Through long agonies our Soldier 
Won the crown of martial fame. 

But there came a greater glory 

To that man supremely great 

(When his just sword he laid aside 

In peace to serve his State) 

For in his classic solitude 

He rose up and mastered Fate. 

He triumphed and he did not die ! — 
No funeral bells are tolled — 
But on that day in Lexington 
Fame came herself to hold 
His stirrup while he mounted 
To ride down the streets of gold. 

He is not dead ! There is no death ! 
He only went before 
His journey on when Christ the Lord 
Wide open held the door, 
And a calm, celestial peace is his : 
Thank God ! forevermore. 
i57 



A Wreath of Virginia Bay Leaves. 



When the effigy of Washington 

In its bronze was reared on high 

'Twas mine, with others, now long gone, 

Beneath a stormy sky, 

To utter to the multitude 

His name that cannot die. 

And here to-day, my Countrymen. 
I tell you Lee shall ride 
With that great " rebel n down the years- 
Twin "rebels" side by side ! — 
And confronting such a vision 
All our grief gives place to pride. 

Those two shall ride immortal 
And shall ride abreast of Time, 
Shall light up stately history 
And blaze in Epic Rhyme — 
Both patriots, both Virginians true, 
Both " rebels," both sublime ! 

Our past is full of glories 
It is a shut-in sea, 
The pillars overlooking it 
Are Washington and Lee : 
And a future spreads before us, 
Not unworthy of the free. 
i53 



The Lee Memorial Ode. 

And here and now, my Countrymen, 

Upon this sacred sod, 

Let us feel : It was " Our Father " 

Who above us held the rod, 

And from hills to sea 

Like Robert Lee 

Bow reverently to God. 

159 



I 



¥■ 1 



— -t--vT -r *vC 



- 



